Such reciprocating transaction is not allowed and would disqualify your IRA. 

It doesn't require an attorney, just an attentive title company escrow officer who prepares the documents and handles the funds necessary to complete the transaction. 

Commission splits, desk fees, transaction fees are not very high on my list of priorities.

Your money is not safe with EquityBuild OR Hard Money Company.

Does anyone know if it would be safe for me to go ahead and take an online course before I move, or is it mandatory that I reside within Tennessee before completing my education towards a real estate license? 

Houses in the same condition in the same neighborhood were sold for around 60k and were off market transactions as well, most likely bought by investors. 

We felt pretty confident that the house was in a safe area when we bought it because we'd looked at the crime maps of Cincy, looked at lots of other student rentals around the area, and walked some of them at night. 

Good question @Joey TuckeyWhile you mention “fair transactions” I have thought a lot about honest business practices for my wholesaling business (so much so that I named my business Honor Homebuyers, Psalm 16:8).

I know some people split their lending between 2 or more banks... probably to safe guard this situation.

However, there are a lot of restrictions to doing this type of transaction.