Retirement funds to purchase an investment property

[Kevin Parnella]

Hi all,

I am about to change jobs and will be purchasing an investment property once my vehicle is paid off in 2016. I emailed my HR person to obtain a Terms of Withdrawal to review if my next employer will allow for loans. I am aware of the basics where I can take a loan up to 50% of the vested balance with a maximum of $50,000. I was looking to do a loan for $30K. 

My question is, what other options are out there for me to purchase an investment property? I've read about self-directed IRA's, but I wanted some feedback here to see if that is a legitimate option.

Thank you sirs.