Get insurance and an attorney  or other professional that can help you develop an asset protection plan. 

Classic case of a professional tenant.

I will try using the “connect” feature to get ahold of you privately.

I would partner with a professional REA who can give you and your partner a realistic idea of what you can afford and how much the "cost of money" will be for you two considering your individual situations.

We're planning on hiring a professional property management company to run the daily operations of the investment property as well as implement all capital improvement.The question is, can my self directed IRA invest in an LLC that I'm the managing partner?  

We also have a growing population of educated professional tenants that will target SFHs and absent landlords.

There may be some investors in your area here on BP so use the search feature at the top to look for those members and reach out to them.

Owner had to do a lead cleanup a couple years ago b/c of CMHA, and it was professionally remediated.

Yes there is some subjectivity in appraisals, it's not an exact science but often times when the range of opinion is that huge it's because the appraiser didn't take the time to verify all of their data or isn't truly that well-versed in their market and didn't disclose that fact to the client and take measures to rectify that (i.e. consult other real estate professionals in that area to ensure that their adjustments make sense). 

As a first time investor, living out of state can be intimidating making it that much more important to work with skilled professionals.