In my experience there are always surprises, some big and others small, but they are additional expenses.You need some reserve capital to take these surprises into account.

I am a new investor as well and decided to get my license to help build capital and get me into real estate full-time sooner than later.

How are capital gains handled during the transfer? 

My plan is to find a partner willing to take a chance on a newbie cause I am not bankable and have no working capital.

It is the worlds financial capital and even withstood the shocks of the 911 attacks.

Many of us who live in expensive markets are constantly trying to allocate capital in RE, but struggle to find cash flowing deals.You might even have the income to pay off a good chunk of a mortgage, but you won't want to refi with raising interest rates, so does it make sense to purchase new investment properties with a "portfolio" of methods?

We have discussed him loaning me the capital to purchase properties through the SDIRA. 

Is this amount the tax I would have owed if I just sold the property and didn't do a 1031 exchange ((ie. capital gain amount + depreciation recapture) - (closing costs and fees))?   

You will also want to know what typical vacancy rates are like in the area, the terms of the current leases, what capital expenditures he has done recently.

You will want to break out the lot rent and make sure and only capitalize that amount from the $500/month charged for the park owned homes.