How to Invest Your IRA In Real Estate (And Other Alternative Investments)
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Alternative Investments
First, understand the following:
QUESTION: Why doesn't your IRA investment company tell you about these alternative investment options?
ANSWER: Because they only earn commissions on the traditional investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.) that their own company offers.
Here's the bottom line: most financial advisers and virtually all IRA investment companies deal primarily in 'Traditional Investments' like stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
In fact, the majority of Individual Retirement Accounts in the United States (96%) today are invested almost entirely in these "traditional Investments".
WHY? Because, people are not being told that they can invest their IRA money in a whole slew of other alternative investments like real estate. And, as a result, most people are not properly diversified and don't even know it!
So what can you do? Personally, I took control of my retirement money. I converted my old Traditional IRA Account into a new Self Directed IRA Account. Now I am able to invest in the same Traditional Investments as before, but I can ALSO invest in a broad new spectrum of Alternative Investments like real estate, precious metals, commodities, small businesses, oil & gas investments, etc. - 2
Self Directed IRA
Next, strongly consider converting your traditional IRA or ROTH IRA account to a new Self Directed IRA account.
QUESTION: What is a Self Directed IRA?
ANSWER: A Self Directed IRA is legally no different than any other IRA. The big difference is that with a self directed IRA you get to choose from a much broader selection of investment alternatives such as real estate. You have much more flexibility and control.
For self directed IRA setup, you simply need to transfer your old IRA account assets to a new 3rd party "IRA custodian" to serve as the administrator for your new self directed IRA account. It's a surprisingly painless process. (For a description of what IRA Custodians are, click on the link in the RESOURCE SECTION below titled "Self Directed IRA Custodians Defined".)
There are a number of self directed IRA custodians available in the US. The IRA custodian I use is PENSCO Trust Company. They have been around since 1989 and they service customers in all 50 states. (For a FREE eBook with answers to 50 FAQ's about self directed IRA's click on the link in the RESOURCE SECTION below). - 3
IRA Real Estate
Self directed IRA accounts are growing rapidly in popularity, but they still only represent about 4% of all the IRA funds invested in the US. However, people like me are catching on and word is spreading about the benefits of having a self directed IRA.
Self directed IRA accounts open up a whole new world of Alternative Investments that you can now invest in, allowing you to more adequately diversify your retirement portfolio.
For an extraordinary book on IRA real estate investing, click on the link in the RESOURCE SECTION below titled "IRA REAL ESTATE BOOK". I highly recommend it. In fact, I have invested with the author's company in some personal IRA real estate investments of my own (Sage Harbor IRA Investments).
