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.

Our main focus was on contract assignments due to my lack of funds., I didn't understand a lot of this at first and to be honest, still a little fuzzy.

I get better prices due to lack of demand and banks' desire to get inventory off their books for year end.

She mentioned that there is a lack of SFH inventory right now because the banks are holding back on foreclosures.

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.

Is there a lack of demand for space now where it is?

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.