(sometimes higher than mortgages). Many of these agreements also involve the seller holding on to the deed until the buyer has completed all the payments. An option that may or may not work for you is investing your retirement funds. This typically doesn’t work for people over the age of 60 because there’s not enough time for rental income to pay off the mortgages. The so-called “sweet spot,” age-wise, is around 35 to 40. This is because people this age have theoretically been paying into a retirement account for about a decade and might have a fair amount to spend. Also, there’s time to get a good return. Perhaps the mortgage will be paid off in 10 years; after that, the net income after operating costs is all yours. Your retirement account can be used for purchasing and maintaining properties as well as collecting rent. However, none of that money can go directly to you until you’ve reached the age when you can start withdrawing money out of the account. (Well, you technically can withdraw in many cases, but if you’re younger than the legally allowed age for withdrawal, there might be a significant penalty. This could mean losing thousands of dollars, depending on how much you take out.) Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRA) are traditional or Roth IRAs (individual retirement accounts) that allow you to invest beyond the usual mutual funds, stocks, etc. With an SDIRA, you can invest in precious metals, tax lien certificates, and — most importantly, for our purposes here — real estate.
When you use your IRA to buy real estate, there are some important things to keep in mind. First, you’re required to report
8
Powered by FlippingBook