I think the best course of action is to continue to look for reasonably-priced listings on the MLS (usually need a lot of work!)

This would come down $40k off of his asking price and I would need to count on continued appreciation to ensure a return at the end of the day.My goal with these units is to keep one as a long-term rental and renovate + sell the other. 

I'm assuming the following should all be in the name of the LLC and not me as an individual: -contract with property manager-insurance policy on house-any utilities I continue to pay for (so, for instance, checks to the gardeners / pool guy should come from the LLC) Anything else I might be forgetting?

My prediction is as interest rates and prices continue to rise, we are going to see people assuming loans more often. 

Since Columbus has had some growth with recent year and forecasted to have continued growth, I am looking at purchasing here in the near future.

Well, he was able to find a tenant pretty quickly within 2 weeks after we moved out (we also continued paying rent since this overlapped a month beginning). 

You only live once and you cant take it with you, so unless your dad has some dream of starting (or continuing) some dynasty you all should cash in and start enjoying the beach and those drinks with the little umbrellas, while you are still alive.

Keeping the corruption out of the supply has always and will always continue to be a tough challenge.

Home price increases are sharpest in these markets, while dwindling housing inventory in the lower price classes could be discouraging people from buying.”Here are the basic stats on single-family home sales for February 2018 for the City of Austin and the greater Austin area:About the local economy, Mark Sprague, state director of information capital for Independence Title, said, "While wages and jobs in the Austin area haven’t increased, the local economy remains strong and continues to attract new residents and potential homebuyers.

Keep in mind though that most have a minimum investment of $50K-$100K with hold periods anywhere from 3-10 years (ish, this varies of course), so you'll be tying up a good chunk of your solo401k as most of the time it's advised that these types of deals be considered "illiquid."