I think your liquidity is a little low for the loan amount - your experience is fine on SMALLER projects.

I'm going to go against the norm here- many people think newbies should be out buiding their buyer list- which is fine, but I don't think that's the best use of your time. 

Asset owners are fine as their asset prices went up...non asset owners are not fine...and the economic divide widened a lot. 

- New LLC is fine, for a fix and flip, there is generally not a lot of liability protection needed since no tenant is going to be occupying the property (not legal advice, definitely consult an attorney and CPA to ensure your entire financial and legal goals are covered). 

Your contribution will be small because it’s limited by your net earnings after self-employment tax, but it’s enough to get the plan going and position yourself for future growth.Rolling over your traditional IRA into the Solo 401(k) is generally fine, as long as the plan allows it.

I am fine just going forward on trust because theses are close friends but if we can have some form of TIC agreement without risking losing the ability to 1031 upon sale, I would like to get that in place.Thanks for your input, @Bill B. and for tagging me. 

If you are only taking out little repair or renovation costs a Heloc might be fine.

Many do fine with relying on MLS and/or wholesalers but finding deals yourself will always be where you can control the lead flow the most.

It’s a balance I’m still trying to fine-tune, and I’m curious how others approach this stage.Questions:What’s your very first “deal filter” before you spend time on spreadsheets?

Verify the studio is legally permitted as a separate dwelling unit with its own address, kitchen, bathroom, and separate utilities/entrance—many "studio apartments" in Florida are unpermitted conversions that violate zoning and could result in fines or forced removal.