@Tom Smith Although I agree, REI is a great suggestion for the potential returns and tax benefits, the hidden fees you mention aren't necessarily a 401k problem, but the a downside of certain 401k administrators and custodians that unnecessarily limit participants in their plans.

If you want to access some of the funds from your 401k for personal use (investments), you could utilize the participant loan feature, which would allow each participant to access up to $50,000 of your retirement funds, tax-free and penalties-free.

Here are the meetups that my business partner and I host, co-host or actively participate and think are worthwhile for you to check out as well:http://www.meetup.com/SREIISeattle/ (we host this one.

your'll over pay for junk on TV to learn from people who likely don't actively participate in real estate (they just pitch a course).

You got a lot to bring to the discussions, so don't hesitate to participate.

I have no formal experience in the industry, but became interested in real estate investing after participating in the ACE mentorship program.

So the sponsor participates in the 70% along side of the private investors according to how much of the down payment they participate in plus the sponsor gets the remaining 30%.Many of the structures are more complicated than this with a priority of how cash flows are distributed but I kept it simple here.

I have reached out to a few local wholesalers mentor me, but, since I am a real estate agent, I've been told that real estate agents are not good candidates, or that Being a licensed real estate agent, there is an inherent conflict of interest when you attempt to participate in a transaction as a wholesaler.  

Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m).The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company  (IRA LLC)must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016; the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

Like I said, if you are finding sellers willing to participate in the financing, that's taking on a partnership of its own and you need to treat it as such.