Bernie, you have to have a plan how you are going to invest your money before setting up this vehicle.

On their tax returns they had Line 44A blank, so essentially $0…but then later on they listed vehicle miles in a separate line item.

Really, you can make anything a good investment vehicle if you run it properly.

This was his mom's home which was owned in a trust, and they decided to use a land contract as the vehicle by which I will pay him back.  

I also do hard money/private money as well.I love my IRA but I also think you don't have limit yourself with just these types of accounts, there are other comparable vehicles to consider (many times with fewer rules)  such as insurance contracts for example.Best,Dave

That's a great question for a CPA, of course, but you could put some of those funds into a new tax vehicle for your 2016 returns.

Don't bet on the appreciation and let the vehicle take it's course.

Lessons learned: Never, ever, ever, buy a home that I can't drive a bucket machine / vehicle completely around to work on it. 40 foot ladders are out of the question in my future.

Use your cash to invest in vehicles that will earn more than the ~4% it will cost you to borrow right now.

His vehicle crashed into my ground floor condo leaving a big gaping hole in the building which gave the bedroom a new panoramic view of the outdoors.