Real Estate Innovation

Self-Directed IRAs: Establishing an Investment Strategy

Whether you call it a self-directed IRA account or a checkbook IRA account, what is means to you is options. As in, getting a bigger return on your retirement account dollars by investing in real estate.

Real estate investing is a very diversified field, which can stymie some investors when it comes to determining how to invest their money. It needn’t be at all, however. Asking yourself a few questions will help you to quickly put together a real estate investment strategy for your self-directed IRA account funds.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Delving into Your Self-Directed IRA Account

Investor Personality: As in, what type of investor are you? Do you like to take chances, are you super conservative. Or, do you fall somewhere in between the two. Knowing your investor personality will guide in selecting the most appropriate investment that won’t cause you constant worry and stress.

How many years before I have before retirement? Answering this question will help you determine how you want to go about investing your self-directed IRA account funds. Flipping properties for example is a quicker payoff than buying and holding (eg, renting out) properties.

Retirement Income Needs: Most focus on the big number when they think about their self-directed IRA accounts. Eg, how much do I have/want to have in there? It’s important to break this down into monthly amounts. You should run projects for 20, 25 and 30 years. As in, will how much do I have to have in my account to sustain an income of $5,000/month over 20, 25 or 30 years (maybe even more).

These are just three of the questions you will need to ask and answer before settling on an investment strategy for your checkbook IRA account. Albeit, they are three of the most important.