Following is why:The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); andThe Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC) must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2015; the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

Awaiting old 401k rollover funds to clear to start investing.

@Victoria S.If you are self-employed with no full-time w-2 employees, you can set up a Solo 401k & rollover funds from a non-Roth IRA as a tax-free direct rollover and then invest in real estate.

@Daniel BuckIf you are self-employed with no full-time w-2 employees, you can set up a Solo 401k & rollover funds from a non-Roth IRA as a tax-free direct rollover and then invest in real estate.

But I don't like that strategy for rollover costs, being a remote investor.So what I'm looking at is improving the rent to cash flow ratio by going to a lower tax city.

Actually there are balloon payments on some and the notes are 15 years and with a guy said would take the balloon and make it another 5-10 year note most likely if we wanted to. the most likely is the key phrase here.. what happened in the GFC and I am no way predicting this happening to that magnitude again but it did happen and history can repeat it self.. many many landlords and apartment owners were in 5 year roll overs and their loans got called.it happened to me.. all my LOCs save one about 12 million dollars worth got called between 08 and 09.. we spent the preceding years paying them off.. credit froze.. 

I will have to explore rolling over the Roth IRA under a custodian.I dont mind starting from scratch to put into a SD 401k, but I was hoping I could roll over the larger chunk of the TSP.I may have to reevaluate how to move forward with the long term money. 

If you're still working at the company and they don't allow you to do an "in-service rollover" the latter may be off the table.If you're looking for a local CPA I recommend asking for a referral from investors in your area or asking around at your local REIA. 

We are looking to roll over our traditional IRAs to make the purchase w/ a non-recourse loan.

2 years ago purchased 2BR/2BA condo in 4-star building to live in; one year ago acquired two additional condos same building through 1031 tax exchange that break even on cash flow but lots of gain embedded in each from numerous rollovers.