Saving For Down Payment on First Home Roth IRA vs Taxable Account

[Anthony Markey]

Hello everyone,

I am in the process of saving for a down payment on my first investment property and am looking for some advice. Some background on my personal finances 

• I contribute the maximum amount that my employer matches on my 401k
• I am making contributions to a taxable investment account with a 40/60 allocation as a safety net. The contribution period will be 1 year, then I will have enough saved up to cover 3 months of expenses. 
• I have a little over $800 in my Roth IRA but have stopped contributing because I want to save for a down payment
• My Roth IRA is roughly 2.5 years old so it doesn't meet the 5-year exception of using funds for first time home buyers
• The rest of my money is in a 90/10 taxable account which is a long-term investment account. However, if I want to purchase an investment property in the next 1-2 years, the risk level is very high. I can move that money to a taxable account with a 35/65 allocation and use those funds for the down payment

Should I not be contributing the max to my Roth IRA if my purpose is to use the funds to purchase an investment property?I'd be able to contribute the max and have a little less than $5000 to contribute to a taxable account.

I am not sure if I am making the wrong decision by not contributing the max to my Roth IRA and contributing all my funds to the 35/65 taxable account v.s contributing the max and then contributing the leftover to the 35/65 taxable account. The only difference with this plan is that it'll take longer to purchase my first investment property.

More information:

1. I'm 22 years old, almost 23 
2. Very little student debt
3. Looking to purchase a property in  Wichita, KS