Should you lend privately in your own name?

[Hen Ley]

I'm considering getting into private lending and recently spoke with a local company that facilitates investments.  They said their private lenders invest in their own names- and by invest I mean holding the note to a property.  

Is this the best way to lend? Would it be advisable to instead do it through an LLC or something else?

[Michael Plaks]

Originally posted by @Eric Chase:

Or, I should have said, I'm not clear why my SDIRA needs one of these...

"Why" is the domain of toddlers. :)  You just need it, trust me.

Your SDIRA is essentially a trust doing business - private lending.

And if you insist on why - here is a good explanation by one of the companies founded by a BiggerPockets expert, @Carl Fischer.