@Brad Kanouse,I believe this is a duplicate of this post:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/1210256-usin...But regardless, here is my answer:If you take a distribution from an IRA - it will be subject to taxes and penalties.You can convert your IRA into a "Self-directed IRA" and have the IRA buy the property, in this case you are not the owner, the IRA is.

If they talk about "halting distributions" to investors to focus on future business growth and profitability, what is their actual business plan?

I believe if you change jobs or leave that job, you have to pay that loan back or else it counts as a distribution.

We distributed profits to investors quarterly and returned a 45% IRR to investors annually.

Portfolio = Income derived from financial instruments like dividends (including REITs), interest, royalties, and capital gains.Mostly income w/out loss potential, and favorable tax rates.Cap losses may offset cap gains w up to $3,000 loss.

Good HML's in ground up or rehab will provide a very easy/handy way to request and distribute draws using something like Built, which we use and it gives our borrowers and our team a single source of truth for all things draw-related. 

Whether you should take a retirement distribution or not depends on several factors1) How much do you value the freedom/flexibility to ues the money NOW compared to when you are 60 years old.2) What type of return can you get having cash vs investing in an IRA / SDIRA.If you can make a 1% - 2% better annual return in your personal name, it may make sense as the added return will pay for the penalties over a couple of years.I personally cashed out of my retirement account back in 2016 and it was the best decision I made.

You would only pay taxes on all passive investments in a traditional SDIRA at distribution, unless you have a mortgage, then the portion of the income derived because of the mortgage will be subject to UDFI (unrelated debt finance income) which will trigger UBIT (unrelated business income tax). 

If i lived in San Jose, the first RE investment that i would consider is a local property with an ADU that had distribution on the lot that would allow a profitable lot split.   

The Economic Development there is focused on building competitive regional talent, diversifying the regional economy, transforming Montgomery's image and building diverse community capacity.Major economic drivers to the area include Hyundai manufacturing, Maxwell & Gunter Air Force Base, major Amazon distribution, Alabama State Capitol, Alfa Insurance, Kinpak, H2 Pharma, Dollar General transport/logistics, Dow Chemical, and Conner Industries to name a few.