- The only way for you to take ownership of the property personally is to take an in-kind distribution of the property (which may trigger taxes and penalties depending on type of IRA and your age).

Sure I may not have the 30k I do now, but now that it's time to pull the trigger and I'm a little more educated.

I'm currently plugging all the numbers from the listings into the model calculator (most properties tend to be overpriced) but I'd like to know what other steps I need to take to make sure it's a good deal before I pull the trigger.

$2200 in back rent I’ll never get back, twice having to get an exterminator to kill bed bugs, and no income for one unit for 15 months.Stop over analyzing and just pull the trigger on a property.

@Elias French As long as you don't take money out of your 401k or convert anything between traditional and Roth accounts, then it is my understanding you will not trigger a taxable event since you are only moving money around rather than withdrawing.  

This is similar to the tactic realtors will often use when baking fresh cookies for an open house: it triggers a sense of “home” that helps buyers “see” themselves in the house.

@Jeff Zimmerman, thank you :) really want to pull the trigger on my first deal already...I took a peak at some listings in Fresno and the area really looks a lot more friendly for my wallet!

@Jay HinrichsThat was exactly my thinking...thanks for the nudge...I will probably pull the trigger.

But again, if I found a 30k property where the numbers made sense and it was in a solid neighborhood that I had a good understanding of, you'd better believe I'm pulling the trigger because that could be a steal!

Just about anybody out there is going to want to see the units at least once before deciding to pull the trigger.