You gotta pay 2% origination fee, $6,000 due diligence fee per $1MM, 10% per property you acquire and then you only have so much time to then re-fi out of that to convert it into long term debt.

Those are typically 20% down.So with that said, the DIS-advantage of keeping it in the ROTH (or Traditional SDIRA) is that you can only leverage to a limited degree, AND the fact that there are a lot of 'rules'  that go along with the non-recourse loans such as 50K minimum loan size, no pre 1940 homes, no houses converted into duplexes etc....

I have found a property that has an unfinished basement and a separate garage/workshed that looks like it could be converted into a studio.

Without any medical history or complications, it is reasonable to find term life insurnace for $50-$75 per month even for a 30 year term policy.When looking for term life insurance, always ask for a "convertible" policy with "guaranteed insurability."

I instantly thought of converting both side to 3 bedrooms. 

If the furnace is a heat pump, then it makes sense to convert HW heater to electric (when needed).

I am trying to convert the 4th unit of my quadplex into 2 smaller units making my building into a 5 unit.

The time, effort, and money involved in converting the 1st floor.

I am working on converting my conventional loans to portfolio loans to get around the 10 mortgaged property limit. 

I think you did not purchase an investment RE and trying to convert it to one is going to cost you in the short term.Hopefully the STR option is allowed and provides a means to not lose a lot on this purchase.Good luck