By diversifying their IRA with raw land and other real estate investments, smart Americans are using IRAs

Building wealth with traditional Roth and SEP individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as with all types of investment portfolios, requires diversification and knowledge. With Wall Street activity inconsistent to say the least, stocks, bonds, money market funds, savings certificates and mutual funds are suffering. As a result, more and more financially savvy Americans are taking advantage of a little-known IRS provision that allows you to build wealth in your IRAs by purchasing certain types of real estate, all tax-deferred. This is a long-standing tax advantage compared to some of today’s newer programs.

Retirees across the United States are investing their retirement funds in real estate. While there are sure signs that a recovery is underway, it remains a definite buyer’s market. RE has always been an investment that will pay off when it declines and retirees know it. Influenced by the effects of low interest rates, IRA owners are those who want to position themselves to benefit optimally from the impending market recovery. And they’re buying everything from raw land to single-family homes to commercial buildings of all kinds.

Western North Carolina real estate is some of the most sought after in America.

Overlook Brasstown and Overlook Martins Creek are exactly the kind of developments that retirement-age real estate investors are looking for today. Located in the beautiful mountainous regions of western North Carolina, these communities are extremely safe and perfect for IRA investments. Western North Carolina’s real estate sector is showing signs of recovery well above most of the rest of the country. Smart retirees are allocating funds from their IRAs to obtain this highly desirable real estate. And with a little patience, the returns they are experiencing are quite significant.

The United States IRS stipulates regulations for real estate investments with IRA funds in section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code. You should familiarize yourself with the penalties for non-compliance. You should definitely consider the following tips:

How to invest in real estate using your IRA funds:

Choose your best option among the available investment property options. Remember that an investment property is one you won’t be living in, at least not right away.

Select an IRA custodian that allows real estate investments. While a growing number of IRA custodians are adopting this investment technique, your local lender will most likely not accommodate real estate investment IRAs. To find real estate-friendly IRA custodians, do a Google search on “real estate IRA.”

You must have enough cash in your IRA to cover all expenses related to maintaining the property. That includes taxes, maintenance costs and management fees.

The income generated will flow into your IRA while all property maintenance expenses will come out of it.

After retirement age, at any time you choose, you can direct your IRA custodian to give you your investment property as a distribution. Of course, this distribution will be based on the current market value of the property.

In addition, you are allowed to pool the funds in your IRA with those of other investors. The formation of such partnerships is a logical and effective way for investors to acquire more substantial properties. Also, husband and wife teams can combine their IRA funds.

Soft market conditions present real estate investors with a buyer’s market to profit from. And using the funds in your IRA accounts to diversify your holdings makes a lot of sense. In fact, that’s why luxury communities like Overlook Brasstown and Overlook Martins Creek in western North Carolina are seeing such a significant increase in sales. Overlook Properties developer Blake Twedt has further sweetened the investment pot by providing an industry-first Price Guarantee for all Brasstown and Martins Creek properties. Mr. Twedt states, “We’re definitely going the extra mile to protect the sustainability of our Retired IRA investments. With current market projections and our pricing guarantee, buyers can’t afford to miss out.”