I am doing that because it is a private lender and the rate is higher than market, but the money had no points, no fees, no costs whatsoever.I also sold two other properties, and used some of that to pay off high interest mortgages, max out my IRA and dabble a little in the stock market.

For the IRA LLC it's a special purpose LLC that's created to be designed by the IRA. 

I also use my 401k and IRA for lender-required reserves. 

@Kin LayThe IRA LLC may be a good idea if you are looking to reduce IRA custodian involvement since the investments will be made through the LLC not the IRA.

I am considering rolling over a portion of a 401K from a former employer to a self-directed ira.  

In that case (especially if you are in moderate to high income tax bracket), you can make a max contribution to a Traditional IRA and then a max contribution to a Roth IRA (or, depending upon your situation, a non-deductible Traditional IRA that you will immediately convert to a Roth IRA). 

@Lee Lockhart there's lots of individuals that are very willing to lend out of their self directed IRA's or other asset accounts.

I made them Quit Claim their property to my ROTH IRA and my Roth gave them a land contract to buy their house back.

:welcome: to BP.It sounds like you have a plan and the time horizon is right for RE.If you want to push the edges you can use your IRA to invest in RE.

She also covers a lot of other general topics that might interest you such as "what to do in a divorce", "how to reduce your risk of IRS audit", and "how anyone can convert their IRA into a Roth IRA".