Combination of my husband and my IRA with a non-recourse loan from Veristone

No real tax advantage, all expenses and income get combined on personal taxes anyway.  

well I hope your wrong about SSI  my wife and I combined now would receive just over 6k a month  and it goes up if we wait few more years. 

Analyse the cost and the coverage.Seek information on combining your homes insurance with other plans, such your vehicle insurance.

The bad combination is slumlords running afforable housing - that is usually a reason for a public outcry.

If you were to combine several of the units together to the point there are only 5 units in the building, would this destabilize the whole building and be able to bring the rents up to market rates once the leases laps? 

RyanBanks/CUs Offering a HELOC Product for NOO Property in CaliforniaBank of the West (I think they will do this for a single family, but not for a condo/townhome)California Bank & Trust (up to 55% Combined LTV)California Coast Credit Union (70% CLTV)East West Bank (60% CLTV)Fremont Bank (65% CLTV)Pentagon Federal Credit Union (70% CLTV)SAFE Credit Union (70% CLTV)Union Bank (up to 65% CLTV)Wells Fargo (up to 60% CLTV)Wescom Credit Union  (70% CLTV)

Applicants must have a combined gross income of at least three times the monthly rent.

As a guest, I probably care the most about a good bed and I'm very "function over form" for the most part, but it's got to look good in the pictures to get me there, right?

Ideally, you want several employers to spread the risk associated with a dominant industrySupply and DemandCensus.gov under the “Selected Housing Characteristics” tableDetermine by analyzing the five-year rental vacancy rates and median rental rates in the market, as well as the year-on-year change in the number of building permits created for commercial properties (five or more units)The number of five or more unit building permits won’t tell us much on it’s own.However, a huge red flag to you would be when you see an increase in the number of permits in combination with an increasing vacancy rate and/or a decrease in median rentsAs vacancy increases, median rent and new building permits should decrease… and vice versaBest Case:Low or decreasing vacancy rates and increasing median rentsDecent Case:High vacancy rate that is decreasing Stagnant vacancy rateWorst Case:Increasing vacancy rate and/or decreasing median rent An increase in the number of building permits (5+ units) in combination with an increasing vacancy rate and/or a decrease in median rentsMiscellaneousResearch Other Characteristics relevant to the strength or weakness of a marketExamples:Landlord vs. tenant-friendly state?