Thoughts on repurposing Roth IRA contributions for use in REI

[Paul Malandrinos]

My wife and I had built up substantial Roth IRA accounts before our income excluded us from making further contributions. Those accounts have performed well over the years, but are susceptible to the usual ups and downs (I know, long term it is always up) of the stock market. Knowing that a) we do have the ability to withdraw contributions tax-free, and b) we have been keeping some "powder dry" lately due to general market conditions, what are the group's thoughts on withdrawing some/all of our contributions for REI use?

I understand that we'd lose the tax protection of the Roth accounts - and have investigated self-directed Roth IRA's, which seem to be overly cumbersome when used for property acquisition/ownership. The main reason I am asking is that the funds sitting in the Roth cash accounts are not working for us - particularly in this high inflation environment.