Did you know that YOU can control what you invest your retirement money in by rolling over all or part of your IRA into a “self-directed IRA”, sometimes called a “Checkbook IRA”?
I used my checkbook IRA to invest in my first apartment syndication deal, and I can show you how you can do the same if you are so inclined.
To Help You KEEP MORE … Enter the Checkbook IRA
If you’ve ever changed jobs, you know that you are most of the time given the option of “rolling over” your 401K to an IRA. In order to make that happen you are required to roll the assets over to an “IRA Custodian, which is most often a large investment firm such as Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, etc. Just like your 401K, they provide you with many mutual funds that you can participate in, you are limited to the options that they offer. Usually what they offer makes them lots of money via a myriad of fees and commissions. As with most financial products, finding out exactly how much it’s costing is next to impossible.
Worry not, because there is a little-known option that can be filed under “things that your financial advisor would prefer that you not know about,” because it allows YOU to decide exactly how you want to invest your money. It’s called a self-directed IRA, or “Checkbook IRA”.
With a Checkbook IRA, you create a Limited Liability Corporation, (LLC), and that entity invests in and holds your IRA funds. As the LLC General Manager, YOU can now handle the investing as opposed to Fidelity, Vanguard, etc. (Is this a great country or what?)
Here are a few of the advantages of a Checkbook IRA:
Annual Fees are typically much lower. Most people would be shocked if they knew how much their account with a big brokerage or financial advisor is costing annually.
You are no longer limited to stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I use my IRA for real estate, loans, precious metals, mortgage notes, and of course multifamily syndication limited partnerships. You can invest in things that you truly understand.
Local Banking. Your LLC opens a checking account, it’s funded with your IRA money, and then you are good to go. I love having my accounts in one place, and my personal banker can help me minimize fees, etc.
All of that said, there are definitely many potential pitfalls to a checkbook IRA, and you have to be very careful with it. There are a myriad of prohibited transactions, and rules about personal usage of real estate in particular. However for the right investments, a Checkbook IRA can get you started in real estate investing. After all … it’s YOUR money.
About the Author
Holly Williams has spent more than 25 years as an executive in the advertising and market research industries, and a few years into her career she started making a little money. As the years went on, she found herself paying more and more of her salary in taxes, getting very little in return. She was an accredited investor and didn’t even know what that was. It’s the big secret that most of the “financial advisors” don’t WANT you to know.
Now with more than two decades of building wealth through passive Real Estate investments and in excess of 100M in real estate investments to her credit, Holly Williams is one of the nation’s leading Syndicated Multifamily Real Estate Investment experts.
The investment aspect is straightforward – Holly works with the best in the world at Syndicated Multifamily Investing, and the returns generated and portfolio of properties owned is a testament to that.
The cherry on top when working with Holly is the education aspect available for those who want it. Holly shares her real estate investment knowledge and her personal network freely with her partners.
