Self directed IRA investing

[Kenny Lau]

Hello Bigger Pockets!

I'm looking for some opinions from you.

I have an unused 529 plan meant for my kid currently worth about 60k. My kid is 20yo now and decided a while ago that she didn't want to go to college. If she changes her mind down the road it won't be at a state college. It will be a community college which would be way easier for me to pay for. I feel as though I could use other money to pay for that possibility and I will NOT be using the account for my own education or another family member.

So I could cash it out, pay taxes and penalties and it would look like about 43 or 44k afterwards and grow that.

Or, I could roll it into a Self directed IRA and buy a cash flowing property. This means I would have to go with a 40% down non recourse loan. Also, by law, I would not be able to touch the account for 15 years.

I am 52yo right now and honestly my only financial goal over the next several years is to maximize my retirement funds. This may be a rhetorical question but what would you do in my shoes? Thank you.