If it is going to be a pure rental, you will probably need 20% down. 5% vacancy might be too low.

Question 2: Are you sure that for a pure investment, you'd be able to refi into a 30 yr 4.5% fixed Loan?

Smile.)I can't say how appreciative I am for the month of pure insight and education I have absorbed here.

I personally would never invest in such markets they make no sense to me purely an appreciation play, but in all fairness I also do not live in those markets. 

@Skyler HarrisAnother professional engineer here in the mix, although admittedly I haven't practiced pure structural (picked up a few projects and clients over the last 2 years). 

Spoiler alert: this is pure silliness with a dash of depth.Some were called to be doctors, innovators, engineers, or sheep wolves to protect us all. 

If so, then your self-directed IRA cannot be used in any way to participate in the purchase transaction as that would constitute self-dealing.If the IRA is purchasing the home purely as an IRA investment, then the loan must be non-recourse, meaning no personal guarantee from you. 

A private money or pure asset based hard money lender may be a better option since they aren't bound by the same regulatory environment as a bank.

I'm more inclined to come down on the side of keeping it, purely because it's a small fry debt that currently earns you 18.6% net, not including future appreciation.

A purely math based approach would tell you to leverage as much as possible.