It is cooling off from insane levels but well priced inventory is selling.

Hire a lawyer that you trust and ask them to make a few calls for you, maybe write a very clear letter and see what kind of response you get.

I trust my friend to do a good job should I send him out there to do the work what do you guys think.

Honestly i have no clue which angle he was ultimately trying to go at, but it sounded like he works with a lot of investors who own real estate that produce more deductions than they have in income to claim on taxes, the point he kept repeating was that you can calculate how much income on a property could maximize the usage of all your deductions, then either pay down to this point and maintain it, or refinance the property in a shorter mortgage to gain income and bring the level back up to this level every so many year or after paying it off. 

I really like Equity Trust and Quest IRA as providers of a SDIRA, but they both charge a fee based on the amount of money you have in the account - essentially penalizing you for growing it.Are there are any reputable SDIRA providers that charge per transaction, instead of by asset size?  

I learned that you cannot trust every contractor you meet, and that patience is a virtue in the real estate industry.

I have a unique opportunity to acquire some real estate and am not sure how best to structure the deal.I’ll outline the opportunity bellow, then present the outcomes we’re looking to achieve and provide to the seller.I’ve considered some creative financing options already, but am new to this level of real estate investing and would appreciate any advice this community could provide.OPPORTUNITY- 115 acres adjacent to property we currently owned.

I am guessing that I can't use the proceeds to "buy/pay off" properties acquired in full through tax deed sale (past redemption) by an entity controlled by me into my own family trust either?

Also VIP Trust Deed out of Glendale, ca?

So again it's up to the individual investors specific set of circumstances, goals, and their tolerance level for debt.