IRA for real estate investing

[Heather Mills]

I have had a 401k for about 10 years now and our company was bought by another and now they are starting a new 403B. Our current account is "frozen" and we can decode what to do with it. I have been reading up on using a Self directed roth IRA to invest in real estate. I am a nurse, so this is new to me. Does anyone have any advice, suggestions, or good books on the subject.

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

@Heather Mills Welcome to BP!

The self directed IRA solution has been discussed a lot here on BP. With a quick search on the forum and blog posts, you can find many discussions on the topic.

In order to use your retirement savings in real estate, you will first need to set up a self-directed IRA, which gives you control over the money. Then you can fund the IRA with the money from your previous 401k. This can then be invested in real estate or other investment of your choice.

However, this can get complicated, as you will be investing on behalf of your IRA. There are certain rules that apply. For example, you cannot buy or sell to your own IRA, you cannot commingle the IRA money with your personal funds, and so on. While this strategy works well for many investors, I recommend doing some research on this topic before you get started.

This blog post explains more about the IRA option:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/2810/52125-infographic-understanding-checkbook-ira-and-its-benefits