Investing with IRAs - comments, strategies?

[Janis A.]

Hello!

Through Bigger Pockets I stumbled upon the idea of rolling my 401k into an IRA and using that to invest in real estate. I'm thinking of using Entrust who advertises on this website. Investing in real estate with an IRA sounds like a way to increase the amount in my retirement fund at a steady and faster pace than simple stock investment as it is currently doing.

I have 10k in my 401k and I'm wondering if that's enough to start with or if I should put more money in before trying it out?  

Any comments or suggestions from people who have invested in real estate with an IRA?

Can you get a conventional bank mortgage loan using an IRA account or is there a lot of barriers going conventional?

I know Bigger Pockets would probably advice "just do something" because getting started is usually the biggest hurdle.  ;)