Self-directed IRA: Did you know that if you have an IRA, you may be able to buy real estate with it? Chances are you did not, although it is becoming more known now because there are several companies out there promoting this strongly. Expanding your IRA through real estate holdings is a winning proposition. If your IRA is not structured for real estate investing, or you don’t have an IRA, it’s easy to find a self-directed IRA company; there are several in the market. One used to be called Mid-Ohio Securities and now is called Entrust, and there are others out there. Just Google for the search word “SELF DIRECTED IRA”. These companies are fiduciaries just like the big guys (like Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch…). At time of printing, the total contributions to all IRAs you own cannot be more than $4000 per year per person, so you have to limit contributions to one to $1000 if you have contributed $3000 to another, for example. Once you find a Property you like to buy you can advise your fiduciary of your self-directed IRA to enter into a contract with the seller and send the money to the title company, and then your IRA owns the Property and your IRA gets the profits once it is sold again. An IRA is a great way of supercharging your original investment money!
Imagine you just place 4 such example properties I showed you how to buy for as little as $500 into such an IRA and then sold it again for $5000 or even $10,000. If you just do that every year, it would add an additional $20,000 to $40,000 PER YEAR to your IRA. Do that for 10 years and chances are you have your nest egg ready.
If you’re in your forties or fifties and feel you are running out of time and that Social Security is not going to do it for you, this might be a good investment of your money and time.
And if you start re-investing the profits from each such transaction and REALLY start using the power of compound interest your returns could be staggering. Do this reinvesting for a few years and soon enough you might have enough money in that IRA to go buy an apartment building with your IRA and have the IRA get all the proceeds from it. Now when you turn age 65 or 70 and can begin withdrawing from your IRA, you are in a much better position for retirement. I know people who have grown their IRA from $5,000 to $500,000 in three to four years by following these principles on an on-going basis. If they continue in this tract for another five years, they shouldn’t have any worries in their retirement years. It pays to educate yourself about your IRA options.