I get $280 (gross) income from the rent, and a potential $10k profitTenant gets a unit in great condition in a good part of town for a reasonable price.Everyone wins, right?

Sorry I haven't gotten back earlier.The Trust was simply a privacy thing.

However, having a few lots simply adds options.

But a comment one person made on a gurus video saying, "why would anyone go through the trouble of pulling up comps and getting information on a house and simply bird dogging, when they can just as easily whole sale it?"

At the point we were expecting to simply proceed to closing, the guy stopped calling.

I am at the stage where I need a mentor to simply help me apply what I already know / suspect.

There is simply too many vacant properties and not enough new listings/reo's to go with them.

I checked with Satchie Carvounis at Security Trust and she confirmed that: No the IRS rules don't address this situation, it simply states that the IRA can't engage in any transaction with a prohibited party.

Perhaps it's a regional thing and it's simply not common in SoCal.

One quick note, I believe you're referencing the 2% rule, not the 50%...The "50% rule" is simply that you can expect 50% of rent to go towards expenses...The 2% rule says to target properties where you can get monthly rent equal to 2% of the purchase price.