Leave Analysis Paralysis in the Rear View:  The Ease of the Self-Directed IRA

Did you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about how much longer you would have to put off retirement?  Are you in a retail position in a slow economy, and the market is also reacting accordingly?  Friends or acquaintances are investing in real estate, but how? Others are boasting about Bitcoin this and Crypto that.  Is it safe?  Should you try it?

Have you started reading every blog, watched every self-help finance video, even spoken to tax professionals, and still don’t know what to do?  If you said yes to one or even most of these scenarios, you are not alone.  The truth is, you have gathered information from multiple media, pundits, CPAs, etc., and the only person left to trust is yourself, and you can’t. Now you can.

A self-directed IRA can allow you to buy that investment property or even dabble in the Crypto market.  Want to start out a little smaller?  Loan money to a friend or invest in precious metals.  Whatever the investment, having a retirement account where you are in control adds to the peace of mind you have been looking for.

Control? Don’t I already have that?  Do you?  How about that 401(k) you had at your last job or the job before that?  Are the funds still in the 401(k)s, or did you roll them into IRAs years ago?  Are they Traditional funds? Roth funds? Both?  Do you even remember the last time you had a meeting with your financial advisor to discuss your mid-caps or forecasts for growth?

Now, imagine using those exact same dollars and instead of trying to figure out why one stock might be ten dollars per share this week as opposed to the twelve per share as it was last week, put the money towards a piece of real estate that is guaranteed to grow.  Yes, that’s right.  You can direct your new self-directed custodian to purchase a rental property where every cent of the profit, along with the home’s growth in value over the years, will all remain in the IRA, and here is the best part…you aren’t paying a dime in taxes!  What? Mind…Blown!

Need more proof?  Did you recently have a chat with the neighbor who is looking to upgrade the kitchen and baths in her home, but has delayed the project due to a lack of funding?  What if the two of you had a meeting of the minds where your retirement account became the bank?  You hammer out the rate and terms, determine collateral, and ultimately, you direct your self-directed company to move funds to the neighbor.  Now, your neighbor has accomplished her goal, and your IRA is receiving the principal and interest back with no taxable event.

Suppose you are ready to get your account tomorrow. From what you have already read, great!  You can add the other asset options later.  Again, that’s the beauty of the self-directed IRA; you are in control and can make the investments you wish.

Sound simple enough?  Ready to get started?  Uh-oh!  This all sounded too good to be true.  There has to be a catch on how it all really works.  Remember-leave the analysis paralysis in the rear view.  I wouldn’t have let you get this far just to let you down.  As a matter of fact, there is nothing for anyone or any company to sell you because you already have the product.  That’s right!  Remember that 401(k)?  Whether or not you have yet to roll it to IRA status doesn’t matter.  The funds are still there, and all you need is the custodian or self-directed company that will hold the non-traditional asset. Put another way, Wells Fargo or Vanguard will hold public stock, but they will not custody real estate.

An IRA is an IRA, whether it is a traditional institution or at a self-directed firm like American IRA.  All the foundational parameters are the same.  It’s the assets that are different.  It’s as easy as opening an account, transferring the funds you want to invest, and then working with your transaction coordinator to direct the funds for the investment.  That’s It!

Get your full night’s sleep.  Enjoy the neighborhood barbecue.  Take the trip next weekend to see your kid at college, all with the peace of mind that you have now taken control of your investment future with a self-directed IRA.

Interested in learning more about Self-Directed IRAs? Download our free guide