Then you'll know how much life you can expect of of each component and discover hidden problems that can be remedied before they get out of hand.

It's one component of an overall strategy and can be advantageous.

Do you have defined criteria for your target investment property?

Definately learning how to analyze deals!

Good point on defining standards for employment & rental history - I'd say we're lacking in that area as we don't have any pre-set standards there. 

I hold long term rentals in land trusts too, but anything short term I would definately make it easier to sell. 

Assuming the plan document permits it, you can then perform an in-plan conversion, converting the funds to the Roth component of the plan. 2) Back to your specific case, sounds like you have a Roth IRA, so therefore makes more sense to simply establish a self-directed Roth IRA with a custodian that permits real estate holdings. 3) If you eventually claim active earned income through your business (income you pay income taxes on and payroll taxes - Medicare and Social Security) then you can look into a solo 401k at that time.

Whether it's right or wrong for you, you need to define your plan - money you're playing with, desired profit, where do you have appropriate infrastructure of network...etc and back into the right area from there.

However, your PM needs to clearly define what THEIR criteria is, and stick to it with consistency.

Is there a general consensus about what defines a good deal?