The investments are a mix of commercial property deals (self-storage storage, grocery anchored shopping center, small hotel, NNN developer misc parts of country).

Like with many self-help books, it's not rocket science, but it puts the concept into perspective by starting with the question that people often ask, "How much money do I need to retire tomorrow?".

We are both self employed but show very little on our tax returns.

It makes sense for a private owner/self manager.Lastly, if the resident does not take possession within 5 days of the start of the lease after indicating they will not be, we post and mail an abandoned property notice with a 48 hour response window, then start the deposit accounting process. 

How about your self.

Are you looking for an "almost self directed" IRA at a custodian?

The home inspection report states that this is sufficient for each unit.What would you do?

UBIT tax will apply so consider a solo 401k instead if you are self-employed as UBIT generally does not apply to a solo 401k plan.

So naturally I'm coming back to ask you all for more advise: What are the strategies you employ to streamline your property management operations if you self-manage?

The tools on BP are probably sufficient to provide quantitative answers for you but I can tell you based upon personal experience that negative cash flow is not a good idea unless it's purposeful, specifically as a tax write-off.