Suck it up, buy a property.

Quote from @Katie Accashian: I am looking to take money from my retirement that I accumulated from my previous employer and move it into a self directed IRA to buy a real estate investment.

Maybe find a good designer that can provide services to install and setup the spaces.A lot of these ideas are going to depend on where you are buying.

Ensure you are buying in an area you want and can see your family living in.

It doesn’t matter if you buy a new roof in year 5 or year 30, you depreciate it over 27.5 more years, not 27.5 since you purchased the property.

My buy box is turnkey sfh 3/1 or small multi newer major utilities and roof.

You buy a property SubTo 2.

If you're willing and able, I do recommend the "house hacking" strategy which is just a fancy name for buying a rental property and living in one of the units, because you'll get very favorable financing - an owner-occupied fixed-rate 30-year mortgage.I'd also say, analyze that property as if you won't live there and it's a pure rental, and make sure the property is still cash flow positive if there's a tenant in your unit because then you'll know if it's actually a good investment.And when you analyze it, include payment of a property manager in your #s because if you don't, and doing so would make it go cash flow negative, then you've just bought yourself a job because you literally can't step away from managing it without losing money.

However, you could buy a property with seller financing.

On the buy side you can snag deals and have leverage so it helps with buying deals right.