I would feel good buying and renting in most any part of the area but certain areas are more expensive than others such as north end, south east and north east Boise.You can find deals that hit the 1% rule but you have to be ready to execute when they come up and I've missed a few 2% rule deals as well.

Make sure to be ready to handle change management carefully in the contract and execution stage.  

@Wei Peng welcome to the site.There is no 1 right or wrong answer to your question.You described several ways of investing that if executed property would all make money & if executed poorly would all loose money.For me personally I look to keep everthing in 1 area to develop economies of scale.

If you have an employer match, that is a bonus.Comparing real estate investing to stock investing has been done many times on BP and for the most part if you execute well on your real estate strategy, you will amass more long term wealth.  

You need to ensure you would have properly documented enforcement mechanisms to protect your investor in the event of a default or should something happen to you.Not spending a few hundred dollars to do something correctly, when the cost of incorrect execution could be tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars is just plain foolish.

LCs have significant issues to sell the property subject to the LC so that the new owner can convey title, and the deeds you executed in escrow may not be accepted now, so I'll skip the details, just follow what I mentioned.

We were able to get the seller down to a price that Rob feels very comfortable at.We have sent the signed contract back to the seller and once we get it back fully executed the due diligence/inspection period will start.

Self Direct your IRA and be sure to advice the Custodian that you plan of forming an IRA/LLC..this way they can set you up appropriately and allow you to purchase the LLC with ease once your Attorney has it set up.2) Form an IRA/LLC - this requires an Attorney who is familiar with this formation as it is no-where near a normal LLC - also your IRA must be Self Directed before the LLC can be formed.NOTE: Steps 1 and 2 may want to be done together...consult with both professionals first, put a plan together and then use them to execute the plan.3) Sell the LLC to the IRA and open a checking account - this now gives you full control of the funds and you don't need to go through the Custodian for anything during a transaction...the Custodian will keep your records so a few times a year you will have to report to them what the LLC is doing so make sure your records are "tight"4) Use the IRA/LLC Checking Account responsibly and be sure to avoid Prohibited Transactions5) Work with an accountant/CPA to be sure that you are paying the lowest UBIT possible which does require excellent book keeping6) You then are the Manager of the IRA and can execute all related transfer documents regarding the asset for your IRA...keep in mind that you can not ever pay yourself or other disqualified individuals out of that account.AGAIN...I STRESS... this is a great strategy to deploy BUT you MUST know what you are doing, what is going on, how you can use this powerful strategy and when in doubt..ASK FIRST not after the fact.

Account Closed I don't really see number of deals executed as a measure of success.

"Efforts to get a lien waiver signed" are irrelevant, only the actual execution of one means anything.