Hi, I have a self-directed IRA that I plan to use to purchase a fixer upper.

@Gabriel RasconThis is what I got from your post: you want to avoid hiring a property manager and self-manage a freshly-purchased turnkey duplex.

I don’t know if I would have had to confidence to forge ahead as we have without the insights and advice available on this forum.

I was wondering what I can ask the current seller to gain confidence in putting an offer in for this property.

BRRRR gives you the potential to force some equity if you find a great deal and then rehab it to appraise for more than you've put in (doesn't always shake out that way, but that's the goal), and if you self-manage then you save 8-10%, but self-managing becomes very difficult to scale and is more of a job than people think. 

Good Afternoon BP Community, I am writing to you from the beautiful city of Durham, NC.I have been job searching for the past 2 months for museum positions and when I was confiding in my uncle he proclaimed "its a sign now is the time for you start your real estate journey".

(I'm not interested in investing out of the area at this point, my work allows me the ability to self-manage and do maintenance myself, and I'd prefer to stay local, at least for a few years.) 

Since you're rehabbing a property, I would not expect your capex and maintenance items be that high, but if that makes you feel more confident, keep running your numbers as you see fit.

A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.

Some of us have done a substantial amount of business through connections made on BP.Plus, self-awareness is important and posting gives you introspection.