I’m a self employed guy and I forget what line it is that they use.

I don't know if you have a specific reason for using an IRA vs. self directed solo 401k - if you can go the 401k route (self employed) then you have some serious benefits such as much higher contribution limits, less reporting requirements, more investment options etc.

One is investing and the other is a self employed job.

If I were to choose to contribute to a charity it would be the Humane Society.Nothing more rewarding in my opinion than assisting a helpless or abused animal.

(Omaha, NE)I want to work through a specific part of town block by block, and I want to find some assistance in portions of the 5 steps below, and help maintaining a master of results:1) Finding leads (Driving for dollars via google street view, craigslist for rent, listsource, MLS, other)2) Evaluating Leads (Filtering and storing, does it match my criteria?)

Even if you plan on self managing it is wise to include PM in your calculations.  

We owned an OOS property (Gulf Shores, Alabama) that got hit by 2 hurricanes in a short duration of time so it does happen.The primary reasons that I am a big proponent of investing local are 1) the learning opportunity that comes with self managing a property. 

Jeff,If you have Checkbook IRA, that means that you have a custodial self-directed IRA which made investment into single member LLC of which you are the manager and your IRA is the member. 

When I say manage I don't necessarily mean managing the property yourself, but you could hire a management company, you could put a team of people together to assist you with investing (agent, contractor etc).

At the very least you need to include capex, vacancy, regular maintenance, payments, taxes, insurance, and management costs (its smart to include these even if you self manage since you might want to turn it over to a manger at some point).