And, there are private lenders in the Raleigh market who would cross collateralize (taking a lien against one of your free and clear properties)....more expensive than a HELOC, though.

Rather than spending lots of time shopping policies I simply send him the details of the deal and he gets me the coverage I need.I'm not sure who to recommend in the Waterville area.

This seemed very steep for me, almost made me not buy the house, but I decided that if everything else is great and I just have to spend this $3000,  then sure.

I agree to spend $500 isn't breaking the bank..but unfortunately, his price has gone way up after he realized I wasn't going to use him for the whole project and was going to do some work myself.

Anything falling within that description would be self-dealing and result in severe tax penalties for the IRA.A self-directed IRA allows the IRA to diversify beyond the stock market into assets such as real estate and private lending, but everything is done through the IRA and exclusively for the benefit of the IRA. 

I'm going to spend a whole day viewing property with my client next week. 

Also, I'm not interested in note investing or private lending or anything like that.

Even spending $1000 to buy 3 portable units so they could sleep at home.

Large income doesn't help, if she spends more than what she makes. 

Conventional lenders won't / can't lend if there is a seller carried component to a transaction...you'd have to look to private money...or avoid the bank altogether...