So taking the retail value of say $300k for a house, plus closing costs of 7% plus what the buyers can gouge in closing costs (usually $4k), plus whatever the inspection, appraisal or underwriting people dredge up (allowing another 1% for this, home warranty, termite bond, etc.) plus the staging @ $2500, it makes the closing costs look like a full 10% of the retail price to get the deal done!

I need to run some financial models to compare leaving this money in stocks/bonds versus buying something like an apartment complex.  

I did live in an apartment complex once that instead of having the typical deposit had a non-refundable deposit bond. 

The 3 partners all work in the investment world (stocks/bonds).  

If you try to evict on your own, you're very likely to make mistakes that are going to reset the already lengthy timeline. 

They then transfer the loan to Fannie or Freddie where it is bundled up with a bunch of other loans with similar credit/debt to income/loan to value characteristics and sold to institutional investors as a bond (mortgage backed securities). 

Water and sewer is expensive, but the rents factored in a bond payback which has since been satisfied... so again, very well.

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to read my lengthy message and reply to it.

I am starting this thread to document my experience with a self-directed IRAI have an IRA that has been invested in stocks and bonds since I rolled an old 403(b) into this IRA about 10 years ago.

I sold my home several years back and am holding the mortgage secured bond for the ramainder.