There are a lot of moving components here, possibly too many. 

We host monthly meetups that will allow you to meet all of the key players in our market.

You are already doing better than the majority of people out there simply by being on here and researching.The key is to take action. 

You're going to hand them keys to a place worth $10s if not $100s of thousands.  

Congestion is clearly the key bottleneck, do you sense City leadership feels the urgency, or has planning on that beyond roads/hwys?

Compared to an IRA, Solo 401k contribution limits are roughly ten times higher.The Solo 401k will allow you to take participant loans while the IRA does notThere is no custodial requirement for the 401k.You don't need the additional expense and administration of an LLC to have checkbook control.There is a built in-Roth component whereas IRAs are either traditional or Roth, not both.A spouse can also participate in the same Solo 401k plan.

@Craig RisserA good property management company is KEY if you are not wanting to self-manage.

The key is that you would have to demonstrate that intent if ever audited. 

I just got into contract on my 8th home this week.The key is to buy in the right areas.

@Kelly DeWinter I think a key component of the marketing plan is demonstrating value.