Fully fund a Roth IRA, or save for rentals?

[Curtis Curley]

I currently have some capital to my name and am trying to reallocate my funds to start a real estate portfolio. I'm a one income household and am looking build a solid foundation for my family before I take on more risky investments. I received some advice to first focus on fully funding two IRA's, then move to real estate investments afterwards. The problem is, I don't have enough monthly income to do all 3 right now. I might be able to get away with doing 1 or 2. It'll take me forever to grow that kinda capital.

My question to the group is, should I be trying to fund 2 Roth IRA's to take advantage of the compound interest in the future or push everything towards real estate? I'm 35 years old with a pretty decent job.

[Mike Zipf]

You can borrow against your IRA to buy a home. There is some risk and it's generally recommend that you pay it down quickly but if you plan on doing a cash out refinance it should be less of an issue. This is why my financial advisor told me to fully fund my IRA, even if I am getting ready to buy a house.