Have you looked into using your IRA to purchase the property?

They will help take what is in your IRA and purchase realestate, its a great way to get into the market if you don't have a huge down payment and don't want to pay the current interest rates.

I have about $22k in a Roth IRA, but only a couple of thousand in savings that wont really get me qualified for any new investment property purchases.Someone recommended I look at foreclosures, others told me to just save as much as I can and wait until the next tax season when my income would be considerably higher to try again to get funded.

@Jordan LassiterSelf-directed IRA plans are handled by specialty firms.  

Withdraw roth ira contributions.

Can anyone provide a basic understanding of how using a Roth IRA for investing in Real Estate works?

The tongue and cheek option would be to move from California, that would probably save some on taxes.Other options would be to utilize a self-directed 401(k) or IRA.

Has anyone used a self-directed IRA to fund real estate deals?

You are considered to be a "disqualified person" to your IRA and IRS rules prohibit you to receive any benefits from your IRA.

Another big hit with them is that they allow you self direct your ira/401k to them!!!