SDIRA Real Estate: Put Your Retirement Money to Work in Property

What an SDIRA Can Invest In

• Rental property — the IRA owns the deed and rent flows back into the IRA
• Private/hard money lending — your IRA becomes the bank, earning interest secured by real estate
• Partnerships and syndications — your IRA takes an equity slice of a larger deal
• Notes and tax liens

The Rules That Matter (and Break Deals)

SDIRA investing has bright-line IRS rules; break them and the entire IRA can be deemed distributed — taxes and penalties on everything.

• No self-dealing — you, your spouse, parents, and kids can't live in, work on, or personally benefit from the property
• All money in, all money out — expenses paid by the IRA, income received by the IRA, never your personal account
• No sweat equity — you can't swing a hammer on an IRA-owned rehab, hire it out
• Financing must be non-recourse — you can't personally guarantee a loan on IRA property, and leveraged gains may trigger UBIT/UDFI tax

This is why guidance matters more here than in any other strategy we offer.

The Setup Path

1. 1.

   Open an account with a self-directed custodian.

2. 2.

   Roll over funds from an old 401(k) or existing IRA (non-taxable when done correctly).

3. 3.

   Optionally add checkbook control via an IRA-owned LLC for deal speed.

4. 4.

   Deploy — purchase, lend, or partner.

Why UpStallion

We help you choose the right structure (custodian-direct vs. checkbook LLC), stay inside the prohibited-transaction lines, and source deals that fit IRA economics — including non-recourse financing lanes most investors don't know exist.

Frequently Asked Questions