I thought about a winter "artists retreat" at a reduced rate and maybe deer hunters, never pursued it past that.

Could we reduce our capital needed for those 5+ properties?

Get familiar with the MLS , contracts & see if your broker has any in house training classes you can attend, also see if you can shadow a seasoned Agent within your office.

A lot of turnkey companies provide reduced risk, eliminate challenges, and ensure success by educating and guiding the investors through every step of the entire process.  

There's definitley a wealth of knowledge to be obtained from this site that'll help reduce some of the nervousness.

By investing the IRA in real estate, you will retain that investment capital and can acquire more or better properties as a result, which will produce higher overall returns than you could personally with the reduced amount post-distribution.There is a lot of good information on BP regarding self directed plans.  

Only install white PEX, we never mess with the blue and red, there is no requirement for it and the white is less expensive anyways.My advice - install PEX with no difference than you would copper in regard to freeze protection, understand throughly the issues with reduced volumes that 1/2 PEX has compared to 1/2 copper.

I wanted to hear from other people as to suggestions on how to improve the Security and reduce the chance of burglary?  

He's currently trying to qualify for a program to reduce the principal balance owned.

I have been contemplating direct mailig owners to see if I could pick up a building at a reduced price.