Jay's Article At Christianpf.com: Owning Real Estate in an IRA
Can i invest in real estate with my IRA?
With investment property priced to move, some IRA owners are buying actual real estate properties. Did you know you could do that? Most people don’t. Not everyone can do it; not everyone should do it. However, some people are doing it – particularly high net worth IRA owners who see great deals in a buyer’s market.
Everyone assumes IRA assets have to be invested in securities, but it is fully possible to invest in real estate with retirement funds. IRS Code Section 401 IRC 408(a)(3) prohibits life insurance contracts from being held in IRAs, and IRS Publication 590 states that your IRA will be hit with additional taxes if you invest in collectibles. Those warnings aside, IRA assets may be invested in other options, such as real property.
Careful, not all IRAs are created equal!
You can’t buy real estate with any old IRA. You have to create a self-directed IRA or an IRA LLC. You also have to find an IRA custodian that will let you make non-traditional investments. This custodian has to be a registered trust company. One I have had a lot of success with is Pensco Trust.
If you set up an IRA LLC, you retain control over the invested IRA assets held with said custodian – that is, you have “checkbook” control and don’t need IRA custodian approval to make the real estate investment.
