How do I utilize this investing strategy?

[Account Closed]

I have read and heard about using a self directed retirement account to invest in real estate. I have a self directed IRA in a brokerage account. What steps would I need to take to use that money for REI?

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

Rick, what you have is not really self-directed IRA. You have an IRA with the brokerage firm and they only allow you to invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds. You can 'direct' it only within those limits that the brokerage firm sets for you. A real self-directed IRA allows you to invest in virtually anything you want including real estate and any other alternate investments.

So the first step would be to setup real self-directed IRA (or Solo 401k if you are eligible for it), rollover your existing IRA funds into it and start investing.