How can I access my 457 retirement funds to invest in RE?

[Kevin Lillenberg]

Hey everybody- Just got introduced to BP and have already learned a lot just from following some of your posts, thanks!

I have recently retired from LAFD and would like to use my 457 deferred comp retirement funds to invest in RE. I have been told that it can be rolled into a self directed LLC, but I'm not sure if that is accurate info, and frankly I'm such a newbie I don't understand how all of this works. I keep reading about folks using the 401K's, but not much mentioned about 457's.

I have about 500k in the account. My hope is to use about 300K as down payments for rentals (I have the rest diversified in stocks etc). I can pull the funds straight out, but if there is a way to avoid the big tax hit, that sure would be great. 

Any counsel you can give me is appreciated!