Duplexes, Tris and Quads were just never a very popular building style, so there isn't much stock available.  

There tends to be widespread consensus among the investing community that paid off, all cash real estate tends to produce lower average returns than other types of investments (like stocks) dollar for dollar.

Hello @Jerry Padilla thanks for the info, sorry not familar with this, so what was the requirement earlier for 1-4 and 5-6 unit and would stock, 401K money count towards reserves or does it have to be hard money in savings? 

@Marquis HarrisWhile both IRAs and solo 401k plans can be invested in real estate, both retirement account types are different and similar in the following fashion: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) The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC)  must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016; the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

I have studied stocks a little bit, however I am only in the process of gathering as much information as I can about the real estate investing world.

Hi,I'm currently working with a local bank to get a line of credit using my stocks as collateral.

More like investing in a company stock - you get a monthly statement and just go from there.CONS for Turn KeyYou're going to pay retail - or above retail - prices for the property you buy.You won't learn as much.  

The alternative would be to pull the money out of the stock market when we find the right deal, however, we'd prefer to keep this money invested and put our equity to work.

I’d like to transfer 50% of my retirement savings invested in stock market to real estate investment for passive income from rentals, buy and hold, in the next 5 years.

If the returns are better with real estate than the current stocks/funds in the SEP, then this could be a good way to boost your retirement savings.