I recently read an article that quoted the amount of money in retirement funds such as IRAs and 401Ks that is not deployed and available for lending. 

An IRA would make much more sense for a child too, right?

Hey James,Good on you for slowing down and learning before jumping in — non-recourse loans tied to retirement funds (usually through a self-directed IRA or solo 401k) are a very different animal than a conventional mortgage.

For tax-advantaged money, a self-directed IRA can sometimes be used for real estate, but it comes with rules.

If financially feasible, I would recommend considering investments in both short-term rentals (STR) and long-term rentals (LTR), as each can offer distinct advantages for building wealth and diversifying income.If you're currently in a high-income bracket, you may benefit from conducting a cost segregation study on rental properties to accelerate depreciation and reduce your taxable income in the near term.Additionally, you might want to consider:Establishing an LLC, potentially in joint ownership with your spouse (if married), which can provide liability protection and potential tax flexibility.Rolling over your 401(k) into a self-directed IRA (SDIRA), which would allow you to invest retirement funds into real estate and potentially gain additional tax-deferred or tax-free growth, depending on the account structure.

We have a couple of target properties, and a back-up lending strategy will be that I purchase it through my Self-Directed IRA, but I actually have my eye on a campground that I wanted to possibly use the SD IRA to purchase, so trying to avoid that route if possible.Thanks in advance for any guidance.

I should have dropped out of college and gotten an IRA

Some of them putting in the majority of their IRA funds etc etc..

My wife’s inheritance gone, my Ira gone, had several other things in my life going on.

from a tax perspective, it's more tax efficient to put the notes into a Roth or Ira.