A conventional fannie mae/freddie mac loan all follow the same underwriting guild lines and most get sold to the secondary market (30 year bond). 

Following this thread, is the season on a conventional 30yr fixed 25% down loan for investment property always around 6-12months?

Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k SimilaritiesBoth were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions; andBoth are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m)The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC)must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2018, the solo 401k contribution limit is $55,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

@Vickie BruceSorry for your loss...You should be able to follow probate proceedings and have it transferred to your name.The procedures will depend on if your mother had a will or not and the language on the deed.

Have you heard of a self-directed IRA (or Roth IRA) these accounts follow all the rules of normal IRA's and Roth IRA's, but they allow you to invest in alternative assets such as real estate, notes, mortgages, private placements and even precious metals. 

Follow up question: does anyone know of a good title company that is investor friendly in the Portland area?

I know managers with thousands of rentals that follow the same policy.

I would personally pick option C.Place tenant myself and self manage for the following reasons:I don't like giving away 10% of my rents.No one is going to care about my property more than me.I have systems in place that allow my to self manage with minimal time.I have a great support staff that I can text when there is a repair that is needed.I rarely take calls from tenants and tell them to text me to keep from getting caught up in their drama.If they don't pay rent on time and it is a repetitive problem I file an eviction to train them they must pay on time or go somewhere else.They can pay rent with Zelle, paypal or deposit rent into my bank account (most deposit into my account)It is their job to pay rent on time I do not collect or chase rent it comes to me.My rental portfolio is very passive with little interaction required by me.

Moral of the story: find out from the local authority what needs to be done, tell them you plan on buying and fixing all of the issues with the property and then follow their instructions to the letter.

But R2, 4, 5, 6 already allow for small multi-family to be built so it seems a little ridiculous that you can't, for example, convert a basement into a separate unit if you follow all the other building regulations.Does anyone have experience adding a unit to a small mutli-family?