Self Directed IRA Investing

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been to Las Vegas before, Sin City….what a place!   Lights, noise, lots of money, some crazy people, however glad I was only there for 4 days.   I’ll bet you won’t be able to guess what my Roth IRA and Las Vegas have in common.    Since you probably won’t be able to guess quickly……I went to Las Vegas to attend a Note Convention.   It was the 21st annual Noteworthy Note Convention and I decided to go this year, for the first time.  I wanted to see first hand what was going on during the conventions I had heard about for the past years.  

I flew down there with an open mind to see what I could learn and maybe pick up a few new ideas.  Well let me tell you.  I met lots of interesting people in the Note business from all over the country, learned new marketing techniques, listened to the Keynote speaker Shel Horowitz speak about Business Ethics ( in Las Vegas of all places), and generally had a good time. 

I know your going to ask how a Note Convention is going to benefit my IRA since it’s not a business in it’s own right, and why I’m writing about it here, so here’s how I think it will help my IRA.

• The folks I met in the Note Business I think will help to put thier mark on my IRA.    Networking with these folks may give me an opportunity to do deals together, when I have cash to invest.   I think I could email or call a few of them to hear thier opinions on future investments.  
• The Marketing techniques learned will help my own fledgling Note Business, Northwest Funding Solutions, LLC,  get moving.  Through that I may find Notes that will be good to buy in my Self Directed Roth IRA.
• Shel Horowitz’s talk about Business Ethic’s and putting people first made a lot of sense with me.  I can completely agree with him that when you do anything with honesty, integrity, and passion then there is no limit to your success.  I bought his book “Principled Profit”.  He has a Ethics Pledge that he’s challenging business owners to live up to and spread the word about.

I’m sure that the Convention will give me more to write about for the next few months, so stay tuned.

I’ll be sure to put the Note Convention on next years calender….

Will

So now you’ve read some of my Blog and see that I’m currently investing in Real Estate Notes in my Self Directed IRA and have cash flow coming in every month. 

Now your ready to open up your own Self Directed IRA to start your own investing program.  If you have an IRA already but it’s not Self Directed you can roll that over into a SDIRA if you like, or just open up a new one and try it out.   Just be aware of how much you contribute to make sure that your not going over the allowed limit for the year.  Also be aware of taxable events for example, if you roll over a traditional IRA into a Roth.  I would also take a little time to look at what each custodian offers to make the best choice for you.     

Until a few years ago there were just a few choices but today there are quite a few.  Here’s a list of the Self Directed IRA Custodians that I know of.   *****I’m merely listing them on my blog not advertising for anyone in particular or getting anything for it*****.

1. Equity Trust
2. Pensco Trust
3. GuidantFinancial
4. Sunwest Trust
5. Check Book IRA.com    
6. Viking Bank  a local bank for those of you in Seattle, WA.

The above list is certainly not all the SDIRA Custodians, just the ones I know about. Use Google to possibly find more.   All of their websites are quite complete with specific information about how to use their services.   Equity Trust is the only one I know of that has a blog as well.

 I hope this helps those wanting to get started but not sure where to start.

 Will

A lot of people contribute blindly to their IRA’s hoping that the 8-10% in interest they earn from a mutual fund over 30-35 years will make their retirement years golden.  To me there is too much chance in that idea. Why give someone else the responsibility and control over your retirement funds?   Don’t get me wrong, I really think folks that are saving in IRA’s and other qualified plans, for their retirement are on the right track.  However I’ve learned first hand over the past few years that there is a better way.  My view is to take the control back and open a self directed IRA and invest in the things that you already know about and or are willing to learn.  That way if you have specific knowledge about a certain sector or busieness you can leverage that.  In a self directed IRA you can invest in just about anything that you want.  Here’s is a short list but not limited to:

1. Real Estate 
2. Real Estate Notes 
3. Private Placements
4. Private Loans to individuals 
5. Of course Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds.  

There is a list of “Prohibited Investments” but that list is quite short and most I wouldn’t consider all that great anyway. 

Prohibited Transactions

Generally, a prohibited transaction is any improper use of your traditional IRA account or annuity by you, your beneficiary, or any disqualified person. Disqualified persons include your fiduciary and members of your family (spouse, ancestor, lineal descendant, and any spouse of a lineal descendant).

There is more detail in the IRS 590 publication that you may want to read.  I would expect that your IRA custodian would also have more info.  Will 

http://self-directed-ira-bookshop.com/ is now alive.  Stay tuned for how I use my Self Directed IRA to invest for my retirement.  I’ll share with you what I’m currently doing, ideas I have and how you can do it too.    Along with that I’ll write some reviews of books on the subject. Will