Self-Directing Your Retirement Accounts

Did you know that you can invest in real estate with your retirement accounts? Most people know that using an IRA or 401k offers great tax incentives for socking money away until you’re 59 ½. They also believe that the only real option for investing that money is in the stock market. American’s have somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 TRILLION dollars in these tax advantaged accounts and less than 1% of those assets are self-directed.

For a knowledgeable investor like I hope you all are becoming, a self-directed IRA or solo 401k gives you much more control of what you are able to invest in. Through a custodian like Udirect IRA Services, you can invest in almost anything including:

1. Real Estate

2. Promissory Notes

3. Tax Liens

4. Precious Metals

5. Private Companies

Although there are many advantages to self-directing your retirement, you need to be especially aware of the transactions that are not allowed. Please remember, we are not professional tax advisors and are not giving financial advice. You should contact your CPA before taking the large step towards opening a self-directed account. Because of the tax advantaged nature of these accounts you can face stiff penalties and lose your tax benefits if you do a “prohibited transaction” such as:

1. Investing in anything that directly benefits you or your lineal ascendants or descendants.

2. Investing in a non-approved asset such as collectables (coins, art, baseball cards, etc.)

To take a deeper dive into self-directed IRAs listen to the podcast below with Hunter Thompson of Cash Flow Connections and Kaaren Hall from Udirect IRA Services. I personally use Udirect for my IRA and would be happy to discuss my experiences with you through email or a quick 30 minute call.

Happy Investing,

J. Eric Gillem