Even if you find a property in CA, chances are, that property alone will not offer you financial freedom.Good luck!

There has been a time push out, the realitor was asighed to me, I made a bid 20,000 less than asking, my question is there is a Credit on the closing cost, I have not questioned it yet, I'm thinking it is the reality lady foisting the repair costs at the last minute on to the closing, in the contract I signed this is the sellers responsibilitie , I have to make a discussion, should I question the financial woman on who , why and how much the credit is.

I think your question is whether you want individuals as members of an LLC vs LLCs within LLC?

My wife and I have very stable, well paying jobs in the Washington DC metro area, but we've made the decision we want to take charge of our financial futures instead of continually trading time for dollars like our families do. 

Is it cost effective to replace and set up individual meters?

My personal big mistakes have been - buying home with converted garage and only car port (buyers here in So Cal, especially the guys, want/need a garage), bought a house with 55 stairs from street to front door - never again, and largest financial mistake was not going with my gut and chose to go with a new agent to list a multi million dollar property rather than my proven agent or myself.

Just think about them on an individual basis...or even as pairs, where when there is a problem with one, it leads to one of the other "targets" as the solution.  

The amount of knowledge is overwhelming, but I'm hanging in there.My 401k and Roth used to be my rock, literally my goal to becoming financially independent, but I'm seeing now how thin simply maxing out a Roth account is for me as a plan.

@Sam MillerFollowing are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k SimilaritiesBoth were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions; andBoth are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m).The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (Checkbook IRA) must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016, the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

I'm looking into buying the first investment property, and it seems like the only thing I can afford at the moment is properties from a low-income neighborhood without putting me into significant financial risk.