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Testing the Water with Land Banking?!
Posted on August 6, 2012 byAre You New to Self-Directed IRA Investing?
Many people are not sure if they have enough money in their IRA/401(k) account to even begin thinking about investing with it via a self-directed account. We have many clients who have taken accounts with small account balances and grown them into sizeable accounts simply by making one successful investment at a time. In this article, we will share the story of one of our clients, David G.’s 1st self-directed Roth IRA investment. David G., by the way, grew his account from $6,800 to $293,000 in 5 short years.
David G. Decides on What His First Self-Directed Roth IRA Purchase Will Be
David G. was new to self-directed IRA investing and said “I wanted to ‘test the water’ with an easy first investment. Land was a good choice because it requires very little management.”
David G. Finds a Great First Purchase
David G. wasted no time in finding the land he wanted to purchase. He found an oversized, undeveloped, 1.87 acre residential lot. This lot had a low selling price of $18,900 (in comparison to its actual market value of $31,000). The lot really had a lot of value and appeal within it as it contained: water, sewer, a great view, and an additional upside potential to split the lot into 2 parcels. Read More→
Rental Properties in Your IRA
For legions of investors frustrated with puny yields on savings and bonds, slow growth retarding stock market returns, and the usual substantial risk involved in security investing (any given stock or bond can potentially become worthless overnight), we have good news: The combination of declining real estate prices and steady or increasing rents have opened up a window of opportunity in real estate for income-oriented investors. In fact, years after the “smart money” was selling off real estate ahead of the bubble collapse, we are seeing signs that smart money is getting back in the real estate market. Indeed, up to 20 percent of residential real estate now sold is sold to investors – and not just to “play and pray” amateur property flippers, but to value-oriented investors as well, who are seeking to generate immediate positive cash flow.
Advantage for IRA Owners
This is a big development for IRA investors, because generating cash flow sufficient to maintain properties is important for IRA owners. Because you are restricted to $5,000 in new contributions to IRAs every year ($6,000 for those over age 50), you have to pay for any needed repairs or renovations to properties either with cash in the IRA, bringing on a partner, non-recourse debt financing, or other retirement assets you can roll over into the account. When you can realize immediate positive cash flow from a property, however, net of financing costs and taxes, that takes a lot of the pressure off, and makes owning real estate in an IRA much simpler. Read More→
