There can be no direct or indirect benefit between a plan and a disqualified party.A self-directed IRA can invest in real estate and that can be a powerful path for wealth building, but the transactions have to be 100% exclusively for the benefit of the plan at "arm's length".

A few of them that have been around a long time and have money saved move often and take the tax exclusion and others rehab and help set the market price in downtown neighborhoods occasionally.

I know who to listen to.....but I'm recognizing this isn't a "jump off the diving board head-first" investment career.By the way, have most you 2% adherents found you meet the 2% rule through skill negotiating almost exclusively?

Did you sign any kind of exclusive agent agreement with her (technically, with her broker)?

Dont buy a property exclusively becasue it is section 8, also verify rents around the property that you are looking at, section 8 rents are often quite a bit higher than normal market rents, so be sure that you are not buying a home that rents are inflated on , becasue if your tenants leave that inflated rent will leave with them.

If you exclusively invested in duplexes or doubles (over-unders), you would need only 50 to meet your excitement level.

So, buy one for yourself and live in it two years (to get the cap gains exclusion).

IF they have a good deal, they either buy it themselves or they always work with an exclusive little club of high net worth investors/renovators. 

I moved to Houston TX in 2009 but invest almost exclusively in Los Angeles all but one duplex is in Los Angeles.  

Points to remember: an umbrella policy and a protective corporate entity aren't mutually exclusive.