Believe me, after 16 years in the self-directed IRA industry, I’ve heard it all: the good, the bad, and the downright weird of self-directed IRA companies. I often talk to account holders and pick their brain on how they went about finding the right custodian. Usually they have a story about what went wrong and it's exactly why I remain committed to the promise of Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRA). I believe that everyone has the right to make their own investment decisions, and pay affordable rates, while receiving best-in-class service. I also believe passionately in the power of knowledge and making what seems complex simple.

After 16 years in the self-directed IRA industry, I’ve gained insight into some of the major complaints and pain points self-directed IRA investors deal with. As an investor myself, I’m empathetic to these challenges— especially as someone who works behind the scenes to create excellent customer experiences. With my experience working in all aspects of self-directed IRAs and alternative investments, from marketing to business development, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from savvy self-directed IRA investors of all levels. After much research and discussion with our clients as to why they’ve moved their IRA to IRAR Trust, here’s what I’ve found.

The potential impact the Coronavirus will have on retirement savings can trigger fear and anxiety among investors. However, we must remain calm, stay healthy, and make well-educated decisions. More importantly, we must keep a positive attitude and take precautions to get through this.

There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to picking a self-directed IRA provider. You might make a good choice when picking at random— but the luck of the draw is not always in your favor. You may end up at a custodian who caters to gold investments when you want to flip real estate, or with a provider who charges you out the nose for subpar service— not what you were hoping for. Rotten luck? As luck would have it? Better luck next time? No!

Purchasing residential rental properties with self-directed retirement funds is no different than buying rental properties with after-tax dollars in terms of finding the right property for your Self-Directed IRA that meets your investing strategy. The key to this is doing the proper due diligence before you make that offer so when the right property does hit all the markers you have set out, you can act quickly and with confidence. Having a plan or template in place to measure a given investment property can help guide you through this process and fairly quickly weed out the less desirable properties from ones that will work for you and your Plan. 

Fees have a big impact on retirement accounts— they slowly add up over time, preventing you from putting your hard-saved money to work for your retirement. To help you make the most of your money, we’ve complied a guide to these fees. After all, if you’re doing some of the work with self-direction, you shouldn’t have to overpay for your IRA.

How much shopping around did you do before buying your latest car, computer, or HDTV? 

A decision as important as choosing an IRA provider deserves at least that much research. You’ll want to start by creating a comparison list for Company A and Company B. This lets you compare apples to apples—and to recognize a rotten apple when you see it. Here are some items you’ll want to research and compare:

We sat down with Real Estate Associate Veronica Alvizar, who has more than six years of experience working with Real Estate IRA investors. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with clients and is adamant about making sure that they understand the importance of using a title company and/or getting title insurance when purchasing real estate with an IRA, an expense many investors choose to avoid.

Self-directed IRAs allow for tax-advantaged investing in private placements, notes, real estate and other various assets used in self-directed IRAs. In order to avoid penalties and additional tax payments on investments, investors must pay attention to particular regulations.

When using your IRA to invest, there are restrictions regarding whom you can buy from and sell to, as well as how the asset can be used. It's important to stay aware of these restrictions which include prohibited transactions and disqualified persons. Don't let your IRA investment sail without familiarizing yourself with the rules and regulations first. Below, you will find additional details about these restrictions: