Hard Money or Private Lending within a Solo 401K

[Matt Finch]

New to BP and RE in general. I have a solo 401K that I intend to convert to a self direct solo 401K in order to get into investment opportunities in RE. I have focused in on HML and started reading some of the detailed posts on BP about how to get involved in this. From what I have read, there seems to be some pretty hefty licensing requirements in most states (I'm in CA).

I was wondering if anyone has any experience in HML directed from a solo 401K? I would be curious to hear your experiences and the mechanics of setting this up considering the nature/restrictions of the solo 401K and if they differ from HML done outside of a solo 401K. Would private lending via REI groups be a less formalized way of going about this? I have also read about investing in funds that offer HML. Not sure if I would learn about the in's and out's of HML lending this way...seems similar to investing in a mutual fund. I am looking for an education and not just my X%.