I was able to help several set up a bank account, LLC, and even checked out properties for them in my neck of the woods.

If they just passed away it could be how they set up their estate (it's either being handled by an unrelated person or different last name relative).  

Roughly how much of this would need to be set aside for repairs? 

You definitely don't want to set yourself up for a lawsuit (there are enough opportunities for that already).  

When you sell a rental property at some point in the future (at least a year out), this is not viewed as a flip transaction, but rather just a reallocation of the IRA from holding passive real estate to holding cash.Your example of buy, fix, rent for 3 months, then sell would likely be viewed as a flip, especially if you repeated this pattern with multiple properties.The IRS does not define a "flip" in clear terms, but has a full set of measures they would apply to real estate transactions to determine whether something is a passive investment or a trade or business activity similar to competing commercial enterprises.  

They were set on 50k and i walked.Jason

(newbie)...it supposed to be a active seller w/ plenty of equity...etc...lots of filters you set etc...cost $64.95/lead.  

Everyone has a different skill set, so be careful with any advice you get.  

I was dead set on purchasing a rental for my first property using the FHA 203k on a foreclosed home, but I am realizing now that personally, flipping a home would probably make more sense since I am not sure if I want to stay in upstate ny or move to a more tax friendly state.

Here are some good places to start: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet- find and connect with other BP members that are in your area.http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts - Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you.And, of course thehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums - ask any question about real estate!