For most of my 40+ years investing in real estate I’ve stuck to direct investment in real property and direct investment in notes, with some limited partnership interests thrown in.  

I bought a bunch of rental properties in my 20s, only to make a lot of expensive mistakes, and realize I hated being a landlord. 

If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class C or D property - disaster!

Actively performing plumbing work for remodels, new construction, and commercial projects qualifies as a real property trade or business under the IRS definition, as these activities fall under construction or reconstruction.

I have my own RE investment company self managing real estate. 

Payoff vs. removal — what’s realistic:Since this is a UCC-1 filing, it’s a lien against the equipment, not the real property itself.

Justin, for clarity when you say you want to take advantage of the 100% bonus tax depreciation that Section 179 allows you to expense the full purchase price of eligable business property (farm equiptment for example), however "real property" like a single family or duplex does not qualify for the full expensing or depreciation.

A misconception about the real estate professional status (REPS) is that you can be in a real property trade or business (in your case, home building company) and still qualify. 

The difference is likely the fees.It depends on how much the equities are making in the 401K and what rate of return you can make with real estate.If you can make 2% more annually with real estate, I will argue that you the extra return will more than cover the penalties and provide you more flexibility with access to your own funds.

That’s right — while the internet was screaming about rent crashes, real landlords were quietly collecting higher checks.Now, this doesn’t mean every city or property saw the same thing.