I have broken down 4 key benefits to a retirement account: 1) Compounding interest in the absence of taxation (particularly with a Roth IRA) 2) Ability to self-direct into alternative assets, like real estate, private real estate partnerships/syndications, crypto, gold & silver and other alternative investments. 3) Credit protection (see state specific laws), but generally inherent protections. 4) Upon death, if setup properly, probate avoidance 

I also read forbearance negatively affects your ability to buy more property.  

It was hard to find anything that cash flowed enough to make it worth it to us, and I personally prefer to have the ability to manage my properties myself.We decided to pivot into business acquisition.

Now were back to a mare normal world where a person has to have that skill of forecasting, analysis, ability to "read the tea leaves" for where it's all going and if todays acquisition makes sense. 

@Collin Luckett  Just adding, if you have the ability to fund with your HELOC, it would be far cheaper than PML or Hard money. 

The real property investment can be repositioned if it proves disappointing in its original form; it can be refinanced or recapitalized if it has too much or too e pensive debt; inflation over time bales out many bad purchases, and finally the investors knowledge, experience and abilities can be leveraged to turn around a cash flow negative property.I’ll provide an exampleThree years ago we purchased a note from a bank secured by two auto repair facilities with a large amount of excess land.  

If there's a family member or friend in a similar situation, and you can both align on the initial plan (location, home type, price, usage/occupancy, etc) you can pretty easily get a co-ownership agreement in place and even a joint mortgage.The benefit here is it might open up your ability to buy a larger place in a nicer area which could lead to a faster rate of appreciation and overall better living environment. 

You may have more ability if you have any previous 401k's from previous employers?

So you cannot just look at industry Cap rates alone unless you understand an operators abilities for higher yield on costs.BAM Capital is becoming an institutional investment company in multi-family Real Estate with Brokers.

If you have the ability to visit, I highly encourage you to do so!