@William RickettIn addition to the self-directed IRA you may want to consider exploring solo 401(k).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); andThe 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.)

You could ask for alternate bid items for those repairs you would like to see completed if there's room in the budget.Good luck!

Although there is some merit holding inside of a retirement account, there are good reasons to consider the other alternative. 

(If I was a lender my main concern would be equity in the property and strength of borrower - which can be measured in more ways then the all mighty tax return) The alternative documentation and cashflow based stuff that I've seen, which has no government subsidies involved at all, isn't as good as what you have in place (eg, if you swap out the 5.875% for an ARM that probably wouldn't make sense even if you dropped 1% from the rate).

A real self-directed IRA allows you to invest in virtually anything you want including real estate and any other alternate investments. 

Mojo sells, and Phone Burner are probably the two most popular autodialers out there for independent investors.  

Checkbook IRA can be very powerful tool when it comes to alternative investing (real estate, private lending, tax liens, syndication, private placements, hard money lending, etc).

Maybe a popular  Franchise to start up that does not exist in NZ? 

While a popular investment strategy for many, it does take control out of your hands and puts it in the hands of someone else.

Since FHA loans are only given to owner occupant homebuyers, if you were hoping to use the FHA loan to purchase an investment property, your question becomes moot.The FHA loan guidelines are more relaxed than conventional loan guidelines; this includes less strict regulations about past bankruptcies and/or foreclosures, job requirements, use of alternative credit, and debt-to-income ratios.