Buying your first property with a 401k...

[Chris McCue]

Has anyone had any experience with using your 401k to purchase real estate? Did you lean towards cashing out your 401k paying the penalty and taxes but having the money free and clear to invest with? Or did you by chance roll your 401k over into a Solo 401k plan and use that to hold real estate investments in? 

I recently changed companies so I'm at that wonderful crossroads of trying to decide what to do with my old 401k. I have a pretty nice chunk of cash in there and have long wondered if my best option would be to use it to jumpstart my real estate portfolio. I've done some flips and such in the past but now looking to truly build a business to grow wealth and not just a hobby. Obviously going against the grain of typical thinking about a 401k can be met sideways with friends and family, but I wanted to see if anyone here in the Bigger Pockets community has used this strategy to jumpstart their portfolios.

Thanks!