We were going to go the traditional mortgage route, but I recently listened to an early podcast that explained Self-Directed IRAs and it sounded like something to look into further.In searching the BP forums, it looks like there are these Solo 401k's that people suggest too, but need to be self-employees in order to qualify.

Some are out of state (lots of buyers from California), others are AZ residents just looking to diversity from traditional stocks/bonds, and I'm helping other buyers use low down payment programs to purchase a 2-4 family to live in one of the units as their primary residence. 

  #1 - Of course traditional, hard money lending, FHA loans are but a few of the options to purchase such homes. 

This would seem to make it nearly impossible for someone to use traditional bank financing to purchase a property at a sheriff sale.  

People who can slip through the cracks know very little about money management and investment risk, but just won the lottery, received a large inheritance, or signed a major-league sports contract.

Real Estate Wealth – The Easy Way – Hard Way – Impossible WayThe Easy Way – Inherit money or real estateHit the Lottery Get a loan from Dad like The Donald didThe truth is – There aren’t any easy ways to accomplish wealth in real estate – even if you fall into one of the above categories, you still could fail financial and with money much faster.

After the 5 years can they get a more traditional mortgage or is it 5 year after 5 year after 5 year mortgage?

Their best business plan would be to buy lottery tickets.

If so, what kind of returns are you getting vs a traditional lease?  

The house has a more traditional shape with the single gable roof, but we have added some tin accent roofs to set it off.