YES…In 1974, Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). making IRA, 401(k) and other retirement plans possible. Only two types of investments are excluded under ERISA and IRS Codes: Life Insurance Contracts and Collectibles (art, jewelry, etc.). Everything else is fair game. IRS Code Sec. 401 IRC 408(a) (3)

An IRA may invest in most any kind of real estate, including single family rental properties, apartments, commercial properties, land or other agricultural properties, etc.

No.  There are no taxes associated with moving to a self-directed IRA.  A self-directed IRA is still an IRA, just with a different business model for investing and more choices of asset classes.

No.  An IRA is a tax-sheltered vehicle for investing for retirement savings only.  All investments must be made at arm’s length and exclusively for the benefit of the IRA.  You or close family may not live in a home owned by your IRA or rent a property from your IRA.  Refer to the IRS Rules page for more details on maintaining arm’s length status.

Yes.  An IRA may use debt-financing such as a mortgage to acquire investment property.  This means you can take advantage of the principals of leverage and generate a higher cash-on-cash return for each IRA dollar deployed.  Any mortgage must be non-recourse, meaning no personal guarantee from you.  Not all lenders offer such mortgages where the property is the only security, but there are a handful who do.  Visit our Non-Recourse Mortgages page to learn more about this strategy.