I've done a lot of studying but I'd never heard of this before & I'd like to know the exact steps of such a process.

AS long as you can prove you are actively engaged in the bizz you could lose that status, just having a license is not automatically make you a RE professional.Post Katrina you had the GOZONE act.. many in the south will remember this.any new builds got 50% bonus deprecation section 179.

On a car loan you can include the income the month you receive the rent check, they ask what your income is currently rather than proving past incomes as with mortgages.

So, if you study the patterns, you will know when you need to jump in for the cheaper areas.The pop in prices we experienced in 2012 to 2013 was the pop that always happens right after the market bottoms out, as investors scoop up the irresistible deals.

See if they have had a formal reserve study performed, and how recent that was.

At this point most of my time is devoted to studying.

I wouldn't dare comparing myself to contractors or architects, but I was able to grow my knowledge of historical buildings through study, so might as well continue asking newbie questions while I'm at it.PSI'm in the old continent, so BP contacts won't help me much.

I've never really talked with him about it, but I've studied his "before" and "afters" on the MLS, and it's easy to see what he's doing (another advatage of being a Realtor).

Since your IRA is putting down such a small amount, and your personal funds are financing the lion's share of the investment, if you are ever audited you will be asked to prove you did not need the IRA's money to make the investment - that you had other personal cash/assets on hand you could have used, but chose to use the IRA to include it in a good investment opportunity.  

@Sean W.Welcome to BiggerPockets, where the only thing we love more than doing deals is talking about doing deals :)I studied 7 years before I did the first deal.