Sorry I haven't gotten back earlier.The Trust was simply a privacy thing.

However, having a few lots simply adds options.

But a comment one person made on a gurus video saying, "why would anyone go through the trouble of pulling up comps and getting information on a house and simply bird dogging, when they can just as easily whole sale it?"

At the point we were expecting to simply proceed to closing, the guy stopped calling.

I am at the stage where I need a mentor to simply help me apply what I already know / suspect.

There is simply too many vacant properties and not enough new listings/reo's to go with them.

I checked with Satchie Carvounis at Security Trust and she confirmed that: No the IRS rules don't address this situation, it simply states that the IRA can't engage in any transaction with a prohibited party.

Perhaps it's a regional thing and it's simply not common in SoCal.

One quick note, I believe you're referencing the 2% rule, not the 50%...The "50% rule" is simply that you can expect 50% of rent to go towards expenses...The 2% rule says to target properties where you can get monthly rent equal to 2% of the purchase price.

From that description, it's also not impossible that the gentlemen you describe was not simply interested in deterring you from attending future auctions.Think of who has more of an interest in the actions taken, a "bank representative" who has completely wasted his time at the auction, or your competition trying to eliminate you.Also, I'm curious as to why you say it was clearly worth more than $500K when no one bid on it.