Get past your bias against life insurance and simply focus on the mechanics of how it works.

But, the guidance you can expect will be with respect to how your investment strategy intersects with the tax code, not a how-to of investing in real estate and related assets.You should seek a good mentor with a background in the types of real estate investments you are seeking to make, preferably in your local market.The self directed IRA is a funding mechanism that gives you control over the funds and a much broader set of investment choices as to how to invest your retirement savings.  

I didn't know much about the systems we would need or the actual mechanics of running a loan book.

Good question: - Simple interface - No accounts needed on either side (Note: The exchange mechanism is secure)

Another protection option (vs not accepting cc) for a contractor is they can file a mechanic's lien against your property for non-payment.

At the same time, the Contractor said that he was under water because the engineering firm also charged him an additional $4,000 fee, on top of the $7,000, for expediting the approval of the plans.The Contractor told me that I would only have to pay him $7,000 per our contract and that the extra $4,000 is between him and the engineering firm and that he would be negotiating this with them since their contract with the engineer provides for them to do many more of the Contractor’s buildings.Since this is a fairly big project for me, I have been reading about Contractors and Mechanics Liens in California and learned that if the Contractor does not pay his subcontractors, and I consider the engineering firm in this case a sub-contractor, any sub-contractor could file a lien on my property.The good news is that I had the Contractor get a lien release from the engineering firm for the $7,000.

Be honest let seller know you adjusted it but I would have told renter not to use garage until it had been properly inspected and opener mechanicals had been checked. and you required a copy of work order to show it's in proper working condition at sale. 

It would add a tremendous amount for the mortgage company to try to recuperate but at least it gives them a mechanism to not lose it all.

I'm 25 years old and currently employed as a mechanical engineer for an international company. 

.), but have padlocks on the front door with a latch locking mechanism that you would normally see on a shed or a trunk.