Do not use a self directed tax deferred IRA to invest in a tax deferred instrument like tax deferred cash flowing real estate!!!  

A mortgage is an instrument that secures the note or loan agreement.

Here is part of the instruction for filing a claim if you are NOT a party of the property (lender or owner) at the time of tax sale from San Diego County:  A party of interest in the property at the time of the sale may assign his or her right to claim the excess proceeds onlyby a dated, written instrument that explicitly states that the right to claim the excess proceeds is being assigned, and onlyafter each party to the proposed assignment has disclosed to each other party to the proposed assignment all facts of which he or she is aware relating to the value of the right that is being assigned (§4675)The key words are: "ONLY AFTER EACH PARTY TO THE PROPOSED ASSIGNMENT HAS DISCLOSED TO EACH OTHER"

CODE:(1) the term “due-on-sale clause” means a contract provision which authorizes a lender, AT ITS OPTION, to declare due and payable sums secured by the lender’s security instrument if all or any part of the property, or an interest therein, securing the real property loan is sold or transferred without the lender’s prior written consent; Please note: "AT ITS OPTION"I've been all the way (took 5 years and $125,000 in legal fees) to the Ninth Circuit on this very issue and Won.

We spend so much time trying to figure out how to buy a 30 year instrument we overlook that it is in fact a long term investment.

And all of the mutual funds and hedge funds and everyone else that these instruments are invested in are all under massive pressure to produce the guaranteed returns needed to keep those retirement plans afloat.

@Lucas Howes - Mortgages are contracts, so you might want to take a look at the written terms of the mortgage security instrument for the loan.

HELOC as a short term debt instrument.

Your insights and experiences are instrumental in shaping this discussion, so don't hesitate to join in and share your thoughts! 

I read this nugget of wisdom from Warren Buffet in a CNBC article yesterday:A 30-year mortgage is "the best instrument in the world," Buffett says.