While I am not opposed to that, I am confident there are plenty of great deals in our state - we just haven't found them.Second, I want to ensure my financial analyses are as accurate as possible for each property, mainly my assumptions around estimating expenses.

Could be 10% or even 20% depending on the condo's financials and the ownership makeup. 

Both our tax accountant and financial planner are against the cash out because of the fees, but we have no other option if we want to get into investing in RE.

Forbes has a habit of putting something like this out every few years.The "bad" thing about investing your IRA in real estate is that the main Wall Street players do not have control over your funds and the means to earn commissions selling financial instruments.His arguments are entirely tilted towards to negative and not providing any context or perspective.I could just as easily pick 3 or 4 historically bad stock investments (Enron) or high fee annuities, and make it sound like that was all that you could expect if you went to a conventional brokerage - which is clearly not the case.For someone who understands real estate as an asset class, there is the potential to have your IRA produce consistent returns and have true diversification away from the news-cycle volatility of conventional financial products.

My interests:Turn-key, out-of-state investing: I've followed the Morris invest disasters, been following Memphis Invest and Norada, namely.House Hacking locally: Being in a prominent SoCal zip code, the only way I am getting in here is to sell my house and use the equity to finance a multi-unit and live in it.

I don't have a lot of money saved up and I currently have poor credit 580-600, but I'm interested and dedicating myself to taking the first steps of financial independence by learning the ins and outs of the real estate industry.

To be honest 140k+ of household income should put you in a pretty dominant life position even in a higher cost of living area, financially speaking - with the right plan.

If your financial situation changes between now and the refi then you will have a hard time getting your money back.

As part of my risk avoidance/Exit strategy analysis, I was taking into account the possibility of a market correction or a deeper financial trouble around the 18 or 24 month mark.

There are other strategies out there, and I don't know your financial situation, but you should plan on showing up with some money.