Use your IRA funds to invest in Real Estate tax deferred

For years and years, we've been literally "hoodwinked", "brainwashed", "convinced" by the big financial brokerage houses and banks that our IRA funds can only be invested in things like stocks and bonds and CD's (certificates of deposit) -- products that they sell. However, we are also aware that the stock market is volatile and can decline sharply in just one day - putting our retirement plans on hold until it (hopefully) recovers.

The good news is that we don't have to ride that rollercoaster if we don't want to!

There are investment alternatives that offer far more safety and upside potential: REAL ESTATE products. Yes, real estate! And you can use your IRA funds to invest in real estate products and still retain the same tax deferred status that you currently have with your IRA. You can do that with a self-directed IRA as I detailed in a previous blog (please see my blog archive: "How to take control of your IRA and 401k investments").

OK, let's move past that point as a given for now, alright?

So, I know what you're thinking... The residential real estate market is in foreclosure isn't it? Well, yes it is. Residential real estate is hurting is many areas around the country. I can make a strong case that there are very profitable investment opportunities in this environment for the savvy investor -- in fact, many pros are gobbling up foreclosure properties aggressively right now. WHY?

The answer is: because residential real estate is cyclical. Remember the 1980's? So soon we forget. We've been there before and done that, right? The dynamics are different this time around with the sub-prime lending issues, but the cycle will win the day and here's why......

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the U.S. population will balloon by >111 Million new people between NOW-2050. That's a 36% increase! And where are all of these new people going to live?? That's right, they'll need houses, schools and communities to support them.

It's all about Supply and Demand. The population growth quoted above represents increasing demand. Today, we have more supply than warranted -- we're over-built with homes, but that's going to change in the next couple of years as the population swells and demand outstrips supply of homes.

Since we're talking about retirement investing, we're also talking about patience and growth potential in connection with our investments. I can't think of another investment category that offers better potential than real estate for the coming decades.

The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy released a paper (44 pages) in Dec. 2004 titled "Toward A New Metropolis" - The Opportunity To Rebuild America." This document was summarized in an article published by Business 2.0 on CNN Money.com in Nov. 2005 titled "The $25 Trillion Land Grab." It states that we are on the groundfloor of the biggest "land grab" since the build-out after WWII. It goes on to identify 10 geographic areas around the U.S. where this "land grab" will be taking place. The fact is that this is taking place RIGHT NOW. Professional developers and investors are quietly and aggressively acquiring raw land in these key markets ahead of the "path of growth". (Click on the image link below to view the article.)

What does this mean for you and me as investors? Well, a couple things:

1) We know that the population is going to grow significantly creating more demand for homes and land development.

2) We also know geographically where that growth is going to happen.

So, as investors, we can choose to capitalize on this opportunity or not. I've made the choice of capitalizing on the opportunity. If you would like to know how, click on the image link below.

In future blogs, I'll be sharing a number of real estate investment products that you can invest in using your IRA funds. These will range from products with immediate cash flow to products with longer term profit potential -- and some with both.

Until next time..... Retirement Wiz (email me at: johnha7@yahoo.com)