Once you have the education and the cash you will be ready to begin.There is no free ride to investing.

We were all ponying up our shares to ride the market out and this guy starting not paying.

One recent New York decision found that “given the now widespread use of email as a form of written communication in both personal and business affairs, it would be unreasonable to conclude that email messages are incapable of conforming to the criteria of (the New York version of the UETA) simply because they cannot be physically signed in a traditional fashion”[2]UETA applies “only to transactions between parties, each of which has agreed to conduct transactions by electronic means.

I just think in the past 3-4 years you have alot of action in RE and many folks jumping onboard to ride the wave.

There are plenty of ways your IRA can grow very well by not engaging in any kind of self dealing.You cannot buy shares of Apple in your IRA and then decide to shift that value to yourself in any fashion. 

That project will be easier to manage in the arm's length fashion required in an IRA.  

If its a stabilized asset that you are going to buy and hold try and get along term note so you can ride out the inevitable interest rate volatility.How we typically look at debt is finalize our business plan for the project first and then work with lenders with the terms that offer us and our investors the most stability throughout the projected term of the project.Hope that helps.Kris

Vehicles, phones , fashion, coffees and dining out. 

After the initial 5/1 interest only loan, I’ve been riding the adjustable since rates have been so low the past 10 years.

If you are planning on buying to hold you can ride out a downturn but you might find better opportunities in markets outside of the bay area.