For me, personally, the ebbs and flows of the market are not a big deal.However, for a lot of people here on BiggerPockets it can be a huge deal. 

I am evaluating if it would make sense for me to move my 401k into a self directed IRA and use it to invest in a turn key property.

Would it be wrong or give the wrong impression for me to ask the sellers agent to show and then bring my agent next week when they're around?

Say if I have 200k cash, I want that cash to work for me, so i'll be flipping houses.

I think a lot of people are using direct mail, and a key to buying direct mail or any other form of advertising is reaching the right audience.

I think you can use the calculator like 5 times for free without the PRO membership, but for me, the $232 (20% discounts are given on all the webinars, etc.) -- it was well worth the price since I am 100% committed to getting involved in REI.

On the job training works for me.  :-)

Some different ways that have worked for me are writing tailored letters to property owners who's property fit what I'm looking for (ie pitched roof, mostly brick, etc), sending emails and calling for rent ads on Craigslist and seeing if they are interested in selling.  

I'm already pre-approved with the 2nd broker he recommended (first was a flake), he has looked at 1 property that he recommended for me so far.

So you likely need to do your own research to determine whether SFR or multiplex is the correct choice for you (I could make a case either way but for me I chose duplex to quad and expect to shortly move into the 5+ unit properties).You likely know this but FHA requires owner occupancy so you would be house hacking a multiplex.