On the other hand if you want to purchase $100,000 of stocks or bonds you will need to fork over $100,000 cash.

Since we intend to use the condo long-term, we are looking at this as an investment in equity - money we would have had in the stock market otherwise.

@Jesse Unrath I have a relative who does here in the US but like Joseph mentioned it’s easier to stock up on household/personal care stuff.

Build box stock simple stuff.  

The stock market is highly regulated and relatively safe.

I didn’t like the stock market volatility, so I decided to leverage my 401k proceeds to set up a Self Directed IRA to invest in Real Estate rentals.I have $650k available and looking in the DFW, Jacksonville, Albuquerque and Colorado Springs markets for SFH or Multi Units.My question is:Should I purchase properties via cash or leverage financing and incur the UBIT taxes.

Tax sheltering of income comes with some trade-offs with respect to your level of involvement and the nature of certain activities.When we are thinking along the lines of "I can do X in real estate" and comparing how that works in an IRA, it can sometimes be disappointing.When you take the approach of "my IRA invested in a property, note. etc. that is passive and arm's length is SO MUCH BETTER than when the IRA was caged into the stock market", that can put a smile on your face.

I liquidated my stocks to purchase this property and looks like I will now pay no capital gains tax on those stocks because I bought this property in an opportunity zone using those proceeds. 

I am familiar with the idea of passive income when it comes to investing in stocks as well as financial independence and having a good credit score, but real estate is something I am not as familiar with but would love to jump in as I love the idea of being financially free when I am older.My goal in real estate is to learn as much as I can about how to rent out a property or even house hacking strategies that I can use in the next few years.

My husband and I have no money saved except for around $4500 invested in individual stocks and index funds.