I do wonder, like you, how many landlords have not served the notices...I self-manage so I'm on top of these things but i'm sure most just entrust this stuff to their prop mgrs.

Also, you could just do a home equity line of credit on the property which would reduce your monthly payment by even more and you can self direct your principal payments.

., yes to my (albeit limited) knowledge on the topic, you can fund the purchase of property through your self directed IRA you just need to have the money in the IRA free for the purchase and have the property and rental income under your IRA.

We self-manage, so I'm really not sure how they benefit?

Some landlords in my market are doing "self-guided" tours of apartments with lock boxes and a security camera or two.  

I would strongly consider self managing using the tools that Vrbo and Airbnb provide.Drop all this in a spreadsheet and see what the net profit could look like with a best and worst cast scenario.

You do not need to look for a self-directed IRA specialist - who are few and far between. 

If you are self-managing you don't want to multiply your portfolio until you have a descent grasp on running 1. 

I have looked into using a self directed IRA and I don't have enough money in the account to make the juice worth the squeeze.

@Neil McCartyIf you are self-employed (i.e. active self-employment earned income separate from your w-2 income) with no full-time w-2 employees, you can set up a Solo 401k and then rollover your 401k funds from your former employer 401k and/or non-Roth IRA.You could then take a loan of up to 50% of the balance not to exceed $50,000.