This is mixed use property commercial in front housing in the back.  

I could get a similar house for equal or better price/rent ratio in a local market where I can self manage and there is a good economy (military/tech/Boeing).

SO a 50/50 "deal" may be for capital contributions and distributions, but your profit ratios can be 75/25... or whatever you, your partner, and your accountant(s) feel is the best mix for the LLC members.

For San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of booming high tech industry, it seems that the sky has (again) no limit.

I have mixed results.

I live in San Jose and I work for a tech company.I invest in Sacramento, it's a 2 hour drive from San Jose.

But we should also remember that exurban areas got clobbered in the 2008 collapse, and we are definitely having another correction in the next 2-5 years.The Albany area could be interesting, because it has arrested its population decline and the state is investing major resources in transforming the area into a nano tech hub.  

Things such as new schools, tech park expansion and even rezonings.

Retirement plans are not limited to investing in financial products, and can invest in real estate, private mortgages, stock of privately held companies, precious metals and a whole lot more.So, you can "invest in what you know", but not "into yourself".The way folks get benefit from their self-directed IRA is by networking and finding opportunities that present a good mix of security and return on investment.  

@Major RobertsonNice to meet some more tech folks on the forums.