Do you think building a nice website to outline all benefits of the lot size/location, nearby amenities, pretty pictures and video and a clean way to submit bids and stay in touch with me...would all that be overkill? 

If you want to invest out of state, "boots on the ground" are essential for your business success. 

Others note that the marketing department wants to raise the rents for the benefit of all.

The benefit to me is if there is a deadbeat, the deadbeat is limited to one room (~$400) instead of the whole unit.

.- Risk that prices increase substantially over the next 3-5 years, and outpace any of the benefits aboveLeaning towards selling since it’s hard to pass up free money, I’m not sure prices have much further to go from here, and we’re not sure we’d like to move back to the same home that’s been rented for 3-5 years anyway.

This purchase would not be under your name, it would be under the IRA (specifically IRA custodian will take the title for the benefit of your IRA unless you are using Checkbook IRA).

I was turned down by the SSA to get any benefits because they said my wife makes too much money. 

The benefits for you are that you have limited risk if something happens to the property it's less risk for you personally they go after the LLC unless the problem was your negligence and then they can go after you.

They are essentially the same thing just one in the form of credit that must be repaid with cash.

They're looking at the short-term benefit of "living for free" for as long as they can.