Cash out 401k/IRA or mutual funds/stocks to make first purchase

[Jason Sperling]

New REI. Trying to decide whether I should cash out my 401k and IRA or my mutual funds and stocks to get the down for my first rental property. I have about the same $$ in each, and both seem to be performing about the same as well. I know the tax consequences are different for each, and I've considered doing a self-directed IRA but don't love the complexity with it. Also wondering if continuing to contribute to a 401k makes sense.

Would love to hear any thoughts/suggestions!

[Darren Budahn]

If you have significant funds tied up in mutual funds you could look into getting a line of credit with your stocks used as collateral. Then you won't have to pay taxes like you would if you simply sold off your stocks. Not sure if this works for your situation but you can usually get these lines of credit for just over the prime rate.