You will find a tremendous amount of solid investing information on this site and many very helpful investors if you reach out. 

I have watched many of the classes and they have helped me tremendously build confidence to go out and find deals, which I have done.

BP has a tremendous amount of information to help you, but it is only available if you seek it out.

Office/Retail is different than working with storage, MHPs, multi-family.I'm taking on a small mixed use building that cash flows well and has tremendous upside.

I've been considering just going to the owners and letting them know about this guy and he tried to sell the home illegally and let them know he IS interested in buying even with the $12,000 loss.Any help would be tremendously appreciated.

When you said 1031 exchanges are expensive, I knew your financial ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.Last, in a self-directed IRA, you will have tremendous tax consequences at the end of those 20 years etc...  

., have been a tremendous help and really are getting me excited for the possibilities.

@Ben SmithWhat you have asked is a tremendously broad and open ended question.The simple answer is that a self-directed IRA (in various forms) is a means of diversification that allows the IRA to invest more broadly than just the stock market. 

He paid me back every penny I contributed, and not a penny more, despite the value climbing tremendously in a boom.

It helped out tremendously when I was starting off.