I an currently in financing, I'm an assistant branch manager at a financial institution.

Planning is great - I never was good at that - words are easy to put down on paper - other people's ideas are fun to experiment with and can make someone new in this business feel good for awhile I guess.Over 40 years ago I can recall as if it were yesterday - I was where many of the new folks on this site are today - I was motivated to make money in real estate - had a giant desire to create a little success (the low pay awful job I had, and a jerk for a boss just wasn't cutting it  - but I had motivation - i discovered quickly that it takes more than motivation to pay the bills.So this one seminar I took the guru said "set a goal, build your team and find a mentor".OK - I set a goal to get rich in real estate - to buy one house a month and to quit my job.

Discovering all of this has opened a lot of doors for me.

@Dan KrupaFollowing 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); andThe 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.)

Hi All, What a great site, I'm glad to have discovered Bigger Pockets thanks to a quick drop down the virtual real estate information rabbit hole!

My name is Shaun Walker, I discovered Bigger Pockets about 4 weeks ago and have listened to many of the podcasts and read the Ultimate Beginners Guide. 

If you're interested in wholesaling, there is at least one BP podcast (probably more I haven't discovered yet) about the topic.

The few I've found who offer this charge rates SFR investors can't afford because they are built for MFR institutional investors. 

Architecture has been my passion ever since I was a destructive young boy, and like most enthusiastic and idealistic emerging architects, there is a moment of reckoning when you discover the disconnect between how imagine architecture and the realities of the profession/industry.

When a Federally insured lending institution does not want to lend in a certain area they can not come out and say that they won't lend in that area, because that's redlining.