What would you suggest as an alternative?

(I'm certified to pull the full credit report)I verify the landlord to be a legitimate landlord/property management company or if it's a private landlord: verify with public records/county records.Call/fax/email the landlord to request references, call/email every day up to 7 days.Check alternative sources for bad/good reports about tenants rental history.

If you are interested in being an investor as well as an agent then a Keller Williams office is probably a better choice. 

Given the cost and market I don't think the cost of stripping the brick is a choice right now and painted brick is very common in the area.

As an alternative to turnkey, I have more recently focused my buy and hold investing with a company that offers interests in portfolios of 10 SFRs at a time, that are co-owned by the managers for diversifying and aligned interests.  

Alternatively you could also serve a 30/60/90 day notice to quit depending on length of stay and/or housing assistance rules.

When you do so you can make investments inside of the IRA to acquire real estate or any other type of alternative investments (the only exception would be collectibles and life insurance contacts).

I've checked out the pricing of Bitrix24, and the free option (<5 GB storage, to time management tools, no external users) seems to be a good choice for smaller teams.

There's pros and cons to both strategies, but the truth is this is entirely a personal choice.

On another note, if you are looking to have access to some of the retirement funds without having to pay taxes, you could open a solo 401k plan, which can be directly invested in real estate, and then you can borrow some of the solo 401k funds.Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both 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;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); andNeither may be invested in your own business.