Should I cash out my IRA for my next REI?

[Kyle Myers]

Should I say goodbye to my IRA?

Details: I'm currently 30 (no kids) and my wife and I plan on retiring with a decent "pension" at 42. To maintain our standard of living and travel the world like we want, we will need to supplement our income however. I've already started purchasing real estate, but I'm interested in purchasing my next buy and hold REI, and most of my cash is tied up in my IRA. Since we will need extra cash flow when we are 42 and not 59.5, I'm considering cashing out my IRA.

Option 1: Cash it all out and use it all for REI paying taxes and penalties on any gains.

Option 2: Cash out only my contributions to avoid the taxes and fees.

Option 3: Leave it alone/do a self-directed IRA and find money for your goals elsewhere.

BP experts, please let me know your thoughts.