I am currently looking to grow my portfolio and diversify into fix and flips.

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The IRS would see through that.You need to decide if:You want the money personally - take a distributionYou want to invest that money and grow it tax sheltered - but entirely at arm's length - setup a SDIRA.You could do both if there is enough money in the account and/or over time, but any time the money will be used for you, it will have to be distributed from the IRA.

Just as with a "Roth", you are contributing to your retirement plan with after-tax dollars, your money will grow tax free, and because you take income via a loan, you access your money tax-free.

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Charlie,The area is in a great downtown location, no flood plain and I would venture to say that it's in a stagnant economy to where it's at as in this particular case the city is growing rapidly westward. 

Realities of growing units while maintaining a full time 8-5 job?

I am an educator by profession, but with the birth of my first child and a growing desire for financial freedom, I've begun to do a lot of research into the opportunities available within real estate investing.  

As the rate of job growth declines (deceleration; jobs growing at a slower rate), the rate of RE price appreciation slows.

We are hoping we can stick with one management company that can grow with us.