The Boyfriend was arrested and the dad was called self defense.  

It was interesting to watch how the speaker dealt with people struggling with their own self limiting mindsets and fear. 

While this is allowed under FHA and Fannie Mae’s guidelines, most lenders do not allow “self help.”

Sometimes these folks are self-serving.If you are looking for some guidance in finding properties, you may want to attend public auctions, track down sellers of expired listings, attend rent and housing court in your community.Driving the neighborhoods is a great way to find unwanted real estate.Good luck

I'm hoping a CPA or tax lawyer can tell me what the IRS has considered 'sufficient' in the past or if the basis is ever called into question?  

When you're self employed it's WAY more difficult to get a loan approved and I think you have to prove income as being self employed for 2 years.

When you are self-employed, they are irrelevant.

We have increased the number of our rental properties from 5 to 8 over the last year using our self-directed IRA.  

If you're going to wholesale, you need to have a knowledgeable real estate agent on your team or access to sufficient data to run your own comps.

The thing you want to be aware of is how the deal is structured with the owner, because they may want you to pay up after a certain amount of time and if your not ready bad things happen.Another way is using your IRA or Self Directed IRA.