Solo 401k sense

[Shawn Root]

Hello everyone.  Thanks for all of the great info on these forums.

A little history....

I have a decent job that I don't want to leave anytime soon, but I realize that I am not going to have the kind of retirement I want unless I start taking better control of my retirement money.  I have almost 300k sitting in some old retirement accounts.  They haven't been growing very much and I'd like to use that money to invest in real estate.  I was once an accidental landlord because I kept a home I had when I moved and rented it out.  I made many typical mistakes, including renting to family.  

I've been puzzling over the solo 401k and solo IRA options that some people are recommending and I'm having trouble working through the numbers, so I have a few questions.

1. Is the amount lost to immediate taxes and penalties really that detrimental over the life of the investment when you take into account the ability to do your own work on properties (cheaper) and things like depreciation. What about the UBIT? Does that change the analysis? If you are holding in an LLC, doesn't it have to pay some taxes?

2. Is it really possible to get non-recourse financing for properties held by the retirement account? How hard is it to find those banks? How onerous is it? How much extra in interest rate and how much less LTV will they loan?

3. The Roth versions seem like interesting options.  How well do they protect all of the income and profit from appreciation?

Thanks for your help.

Shawn