"Here’s the catch," Sarah warned, her pen hovering over the pad. "This isn't a beach house for you to sip margaritas in. The IRS says this is an , not a second home. You can’t live there, you can’t use it as an office, and you can't even pick up a hammer to fix a leaky faucet yourself. That’s 'sweat equity,' and the IRS hates it. You have to hire professionals for everything." Step 3: The Purchase
Arthur leaned in. Over the next hour, Sarah sketched out the blueprint for his "Real Estate IRA." Step 1: The New Vault how to use ira to buy real estate
Six months later, the duplex was rented. Arthur watched the mail, but the rent checks didn't go to his mailbox. They went directly to his SDIRA custodian. "Here’s the catch," Sarah warned, her pen hovering
"There’s got to be a way to build something I can actually touch," he muttered. You can’t live there, you can’t use it
"It stays in the tax-sheltered bubble," Arthur realized. He didn't pay a dime in capital gains or income tax on the rent. When the water heater blew, he didn't reach for his personal checkbook; he sent a digital request to his custodian to pay the plumber from the IRA funds. The Foundation
He had turned his paper wealth into brick and mortar, proving that with the right custodian and a strict "hands-off" policy, you really can build a house out of an IRA.
That’s when his daughter, Sarah, a sharp real estate attorney, sat down and slid a legal pad across the table. "You can, Dad. But you can't do it with that standard IRA at the big bank. You need a ."