Some gurus go as high as 70%, IMHO that is too high, leave some cushion for your private money people to sell in case you get hit by a bus.

Assuming a required rate of return of 5% (comparable to high-yield savings or a CD), the deal would need to yield a total CoC return of 10% (since everything is split 50/50).I'm stuck because while playing around with numbers, achieving this return seems improbable if not unrealistic.

There will typically be a lot of offers on the place unless the condition is no good or the property is priced high, so you need to communicate everything.4.

It also has an unusually high concentration of 2-4 family multi-family options to make your dollar go a little further, if a duplex or fourplex is your cup of tea.

The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC)  must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016, the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

There's a high likelihood that family dynamics will come into play.

Since the interest rates are high right now and prices pushed back a little bit I thought about doing an owner finance on a five year balloon.Thinking about paying it off in full and then turning around and doing an owner finance at a value somewhere between its current condition value and the ARV.

Some people like messing with all that, but to me the return is pretty low and the headaches high. 

You are correct that prices are high, it's also good to know that 2-4 unit properties are extremely popular at the moment.

Also love @Patrick Allen's reply mentioning.(1) HELOCs on primaries are easier to obtain(2) High rates may make cash flow difficult unless there is a clear & compelling refi strategyItems I'll add from my seat.(1) Although rare we(Lower.com) offer HELOCs on investment properties, but the terms will always be better on primaries.(2) If you're moving into the next home, needing to only put ~5% down doesn't leave you very exposed to the higher rates of a HELOC.