Scaredycat, not talking about borrowing from your IRA in this case.

Yes, from your IRA you can only borrow up to $10k ($20k if married) in for a downpayment on a home. If its an IRA you will be subject to taxes on the withdrawl, however, the IRS will waive the early-withdrawl penalty. $10k helps, but isn’t a miracle.

In a 401k you are taking a loan against the account and it must be repaid with interest.

For this thread, I am discussing making a real estate loan from my IRA to a 3rd party exactly like a bank makes a loan. It would be a 1st trust deed, secured against the house, have terms/maturities/interest all just like a bank loan. its a nice way to add secured income to an IRA in a tax free manner (remember interest is taxed as ordinary income which is the highest rates).

The rub is that I cannot make a loan from my IRA to a ‘related party’ which is myself, wife, family, business, or any person/entity that I have a ownership entity in. it must be a 3rd party like you, or anyone else on this blog, or in the world.

Thus, conceptially, we’re debating whether I could loan you $100k from my IRA at a minimal interest rate, and you could loan me $100k at a minimal interest rate and it would wash out as a very cheap loan.

Lastly, it is simple to convert/rollover your current 401k/iras to a self-directed IRA at a custodian who specializes in this. However, while it is easy, there are very specific rules on how to do it (and it is a very viable option for most people (but not all) once they learn the details). I’ve worked with the 4 largest custodians and clients have been transacted over $200mm of real estate from their IRAs which they never would have been able to do from their personal accounts.

Be sure to get solid advice on your own situation from your advisors!