All Forum Posts by: Ryan McCallister

@ Brian Eastman

I have read several things on the differences and thought the same, but since I do not have the business part planned or making income yet I felt that it was not the ideal option now. On the other hand I will have to look more into the difference between the standard and Self Directed as I do not understand this well. I guess I narrowed in on the self directed as being the best solution if I wanted to access my money for real estate. The "interim" is the real consideration here though.  

Thanks @ Brian Eastman 

I think what I have learned from what you say is that I do not have to look at the transfer as long term or stuck to only a single investment category. Moving forward now with a SD IRA will give me freedom to do more and it does not have to be inactive while moving slowly towards real estate. Full time investing will be several years away and I can make necessary changes to my IRA when that time comes.

I am on information overload as I dedicate time daily to educating myself. This subject I keep leaving lower on the priority list, but want to make sure timing is not my immediate enemy. I see now that I can make smaller changes than my ignorance fabricated in my mind. 

Right now I am making an investment in a home I currently rent, then I will flip or rent by the first quarter of next year while living in a majority of the time. At some point after/during this I will be working become an active real estate investor. I have an old 401K with near 40K that I believe I want to use for investments.  One fact to consider in my final question it that the current company who has my money will be making changes and my money will not be available between October and November. Also Lost 2.2K in 401K account since June 2015.

Question: Should I consider moving my money now because the market is likely to "bear" more losses? Or should I hold out and only move when I am absolutely ready to start active investment. So essentially will I lose more by leaving in current funds or by having in a self directed I am not active with yet?

I am not sure what factors to evaluate on my own, and the buzz about the market (which I don't fully understand) makes me worry I should move now since I am not long term in the current old employer account.

Thanks! 

@Doris W.

Great points! Thanks for your time and insight. Those things are definitely different in Ga and I have not considered them thoroughly, but will now. 

As poor young college students we used our HELOC refinance to fund materials and some labor jobs I could not handle like roof/framing and siding as well as pay down some debt. Then on our final sale we also payed down debt to nothing but our modest car payments now. I think our next step should be investing at some level. I read about a lot of people say don't buy, you should rent! So I am questioning how others have done this and compare the sacrifices. Does owning and depending on HELOC type method always mean slower return versus renting and going all in? At 30yr old I feel like we are in it and want to keep going up and not make a sandbagging decision. Realtor sent another house to look at today, but these are nesting homes(haha) not full investments. As far as my old 401k it seems like a self directed is the way to go.

Thanks @Sarah Grise

After making a decent 60k profit on a 6yr first home live in self-rehab, we came out on top just doing what we enjoyed. Now with degrees, better paying jobs, and a new state we started out in a rental. This is the first rental since post high school. I enjoy owning because rentals usually are not that unique and were not neighborhood people. We are outdoor, big dog, big workshop, and two car garage doesn't cut it for hobbies type people. Armed with 25k down payment and 38k in old 401k, I want to start making income generating investments, but I do not like sacrificing for cookie cutter rentals. So I am looking for advice on circumstances. We are dedicating serious time to research and soon to attend local REIA basics courses. Prior to this mindset we started looking for our second home with a realtor Should I back out of looking with realator or be split it up i.e. combine 25k and 38k to invest while renting, or happy medium of 25k on second home and 38k in investment? Thanks for any insight?