Moving your IRA over to a self directed IRA aka checkbook IRA is one of the biggest questions we get.
The funny thing is most people already know the answer. Its the exact same process as moving from one IRA provider to another.
Here are the exact steps:
- Open an account with a self directed IRA custodian. Make sure you verify with the custodian that they allow for investments such as real estate and or a private company like an LLC.
- Contact your old IRA custodian and have them move your IRA assets to the new custodian.
- Once the funds get to the new IRA custodian you are now free to invest your retirement assets in the expanded world of real estate, private loans, hard money loans, tax lien certificates, . . . you get the idea.
- If you really want to supercharge your control over your retirement assets consider having your IRA create and own 100% of an LLC. Now when your IRA wants to make an investment it doesn’t need to ask for permission from the custodian. The manager of the LLC (probably you) just writes a check. Its that easy!
Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. You are merely moving your IRA from one provider to another, and yet opening up a world of investment possibilities.
By the way, this is also a good time to consult your IRA attorney to find out if you might be eligible for a self-directed 401(K). These accounts have all the advantages of a self-directed IRA and also offer protections for the account holder than a self-directed IRA cannot. While self-directed 401(k)s are not available to everyone, many real estate investors in particular are eligible for them and do not realize it even if they are not full-time investors and, instead, work a full-time job with an employer other than themselves.