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Top Ten Mistakes I See People Make With Their Self-Directed IRAs

Posted on by Beatriz Oliva
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

1) Not understanding the “self-directed” part of self-directed IRAs.
Unlike more traditional brokerage style IRAs, self-directed IRAs do not come with any tax, legal or investment advice, nor do self-directed custodians and third party administrators offer or endorse investment products. Self-directed means just that – it is self-directed and you must find your own investments and decide how you want to structure those investments. If you make a million dollars in your self-directed IRA all the glory belongs to you, but if you lose everything you have there is no one to blame but yourself.
2) Not investing in what they know best, but rather investing in something they know nothing whatsoever about.
One of the primary benefits of a self-directed IRA is that it allows you to invest in what you know best, especially if that is not the more traditional IRA investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds or annuities. Some people get very excited about the idea of self-direction and invest in something they know nothing about, which often leads to an investment disaster. Most of my mistakes in investing have been because I have strayed from what I know how to do best.
3) Not understanding the disqualified persons and prohibited transaction rules.
Disqualified persons are those persons who are deemed to be too close to make a transaction within your IRA an arms-length transaction, which means these persons cannot enter into transactions with your IRA nor can they benefit from those transactions, either directly or indirectly. Prohibited transactions are what your IRA cannot do with any disqualified person. The penalty for entering into a prohibited transaction is DEATH (of the IRA that is) along with taxes and penalties. If you have a self-directed IRA you must have a good basic understanding of these rules as they apply to your investing strategy.
4) Not vesting assets correctly – all assets in self-directed IRAs should be vested as follows: “Quest Trust Company, Inc. FBO Your Name IRA #Your IRA Number.”
A lot of time is spent in attempting to get clients, title companies, and investment providers to understand that all assets must be vested in a specific way in order to be held within a self-directed IRA. Common errors include failing to vest in the name of the custodian or administrator at all, or only putting the client name after the “FBO” so that it appears we are holding the asset on behalf of the individual instead of the individual’s IRA. Another common mistake is where the client attempts to use their own Social Security Number instead of that of the IRA or the administrator or custodian’s trust tax identification number.

 

5) Failing to submit proper paperwork to allow smooth opening of IRAs and processing of transactions.
Another large time waster is chasing down paperwork from improperly completed documents for opening the IRAs, for transferring money into the IRAs and for transactions. This leads to a frustrated client and frustrated staff. Taking the time to learn how to properly submit paperwork and allowing yourself enough time to do so is critical in successfully navigating the self-directed IRA world. Remember, it is better to ask questions in advance than to submit incorrect paperwork and cause a delay.
6) Not understanding what they are investing in.
This is a big one. It is almost incomprehensible to me how some people don’t have any understanding of what they are investing in at all. For example, a person called the other day and thought she had a note and an option agreement. Instead, she had a simple option where she had paid $28,000 for an option to buy 50% of the property for $10. This was meant to help the owner out of foreclosure. The homeowner had the right to buy back the option at a profit to the IRA of about $5,000. The good news is that it worked for a time period and the homeowner got to stay in the house for an extra two years. The bad news is that the homeowner still wasn’t fiscally responsible and the IRA lost every dime when the lien holder foreclosed. Since all the IRA had was an option (not a note as she thought) she could not even sue to recover some of her money, and even if she had exercised her option her IRA would have only owned half of the house.
7) Not understanding Unrelated Business Income Tax and how it may affect your IRA.
IRAs may be taxed in three circumstances. First, if it runs a business, either directly in the IRA or indirectly through a non-taxed entity such as a partnership or LLC. Second, if the IRA owns and rents out personal property (rents from real property are exempt from this tax). Third, if the IRA owns debt-financed property, again either directly in the IRA or indirectly through a non-taxed entity such as a partnership or LLC. Just to be clear, it is not necessarily all bad to make investments which cause your IRA to pay tax, especially within a Roth IRA or other tax free account, but it is something you should understand up front.
8) Trusting someone with your hard earned IRA money without doing proper due diligence and proper paperwork.
Let me give you a hint – con men are very good at what they do. Make sure you understand what you are investing in, and do your due diligence on the investment and on the person you are investing with before making an investment decision. Also, make sure you have proper paperwork. I wouldn’t loan money to my own mother without proper documentation! Proper paperwork protects both your IRA and the person your IRA is investing with. Think about what would happen if either you died or the person you invested with died. Would either party’s heirs understand what the investment was all about? Even if you trusted the person you invested with absolutely, would their heirs know about your handshake deal and honor it? Probably not! An excellent rule of thumb in investing is that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Also, a common thread in scams is that it must be done NOW or you will miss out on this incredible opportunity! This is an attempt to draw you in without allowing you time to think about or due diligence on the investment.

 

9) Failing to follow proper strategy when loaning your IRA to other investors.
There are at least 10 simple rules to follow when lending your IRA money out (or even your personal money). They are:
a) Do not loan on something you wouldn’t be excited to own if the borrower defaults.
b) Generally, do not advance money for repairs until the repairs are done, and then inspect the repairs before advancing the funds.
c) Do not loan to someone you would feel uncomfortable foreclosing on!
d) If the loan goes into default, do not delay – take action immediately!
e) Collect interest monthly so you will know if the borrower is getting into trouble.
f) If you are unsure about a loan, hire a professional to help you evaluate the deal (at the borrower’s cost, of course!).
g) Get title insurance on your loan. If done at closing the incremental cost to the borrower is very small.
h) Verify that hazard and, if necessary, flood and wind insurance are in place naming your IRA as an additional insured.
i) Insist on evidence that taxes, homeowners association dues and hazard insurance are paid when they come due during the term of the loan.
j) Get a personal guarantee when lending to a non-individual borrower or a weak borrower.

 

10) Attempting to figure out how to get around the rules to get a benefit for themselves or other disqualified persons rather than simply investing within the rules.
It seems to be very tempting for people to want to use their own IRAs to make money or obtain some other benefit for themselves or other disqualified persons right now instead of letting all the benefits go to the IRA so that they have a nice retirement. To make matters worse, a lot of gurus are teaching how to hide the fact that you are violating the rules instead of teaching people how to use the rules properly to their advantage. My personal motto is, use the law to your advantage but don’t abuse the law. After all, the “R” in IRA stands for Retirement. It is not an INA (or Individual NOW Account)! To make money now, use OPI (Other People’s IRAs), and to make money for your retirement, use your own self-directed IRA.

Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Self-Directed IRAs

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

There is a lot of confusion over self-directed IRAs and what is and is not possible. In this article I will discuss some of the most important things you need to know about self-directed IRAs.

 

1) IRAs Can Purchase Almost Anything. A common misconception about IRAs is that purchasing anything other than CDs, stocks, mutual funds or annuities is illegal in an IRA. This is false. The only prohibitions contained in the Internal Revenue Code for IRAs are investments in life insurance contracts and in “collectibles.” Since there are so few restrictions contained in the law, almost anything else which can be documented can be purchased in your IRA. A “self­directed” IRA allows any investment not expressly prohibited by law. Common investment choices include real estate, both domestic and foreign, options, secured and unsecured notes, including first and second liens against real estate, C corporation stock, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, trusts and a whole lot more.

 

2) Seven Types of Accounts Can Be Self-Directed, Not Just Roth IRAs. There are seven different types of accounts which can be self-directed. They are the 1) Roth IRA, 2) the Traditional IRA, 3) the SEP IRA, 4) the SIMPLE IRA, 5) the Individual 401(k), including the Roth 401(k), 6) the Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA, formerly known as the Education IRA), and 7) the Health Savings Account (HSA). Not only can all of these accounts invest in non-traditional investments as indicated above, but they can be combined together to purchase a single investment.

 

3) Almost Anyone Can Have a Self-Directed Account of Some Type. Although there are income limits for contributing to a Roth IRA, having a retirement plan at work does not affect your ability to contribute to a Roth IRA, and there is no age limit either. With a Traditional IRA, the fact that you or your spouse has a retirement plan at work may affect the deductibility of your contribution, but anyone with earned income who is under age 72 can contribute to a Traditional IRA. There are no upper income limits for contributing to a Traditional IRA. A Traditional IRA can also receive funds from a prior employer’s 401(k) or other qualified plan. Additionally, you may be able to contribute to a Coverdell ESA for your children or grandchildren, nieces, nephews or even my children, if you are so inclined. If you have the right type of health insurance, called a High Deductible Health Plan, you can contribute to an HSA regardless of your income level. With an HSA, you may deduct your contributions to the account and qualified distributions are tax free forever! All of this is in addition to any retirement plan you have at your job or for your self-employed business, including a SEP IRA, a SIMPLE IRA or a qualified plan such as a 401(k) plan or a 403(b) plan.

 

4) Even Small Balance Accounts Can Participate in Non-Traditional Investing. There are at least 4 ways you can participate in real estate investment even with a small IRA. First, you can wholesale property. You simply put the contract in the name of your IRA instead of your name. The earnest money comes from the IRA. When you assign the contract, the assignment fee goes back into your IRA. If using a Roth IRA, a Roth 401(k), an HSA, or a Coverdell ESA, this profit can be tax-free forever as long as you take the money out as a qualified distribution. Second, you can purchase an option on real estate, which then can be either exercised, assigned to a third party, or canceled for a fee. Third, you can purchase property in your IRA subject to existing financing or with a non-recourse loan from a bank, a hard money lender, a financial friend or a motivated seller. Profits from debt-financed property in your IRA may incur unrelated business income tax (UBIT), however. Finally, your IRA can be a partner with other IRA or non-IRA investors. For example, one recent hard money loan we funded had 10 different accounts participating. The smallest account to participate was for only $1,827.00!

 

5) Caution: There Are Restrictions on What You Can Do With Your IRA. Although as noted above in paragraph 1 the Internal Revenue Code lists very few investment restrictions, certain transactions (as opposed to investments) are considered to be prohibited. If your IRA enters into a prohibited transaction, there are severe consequences, so it is important to understand what constitutes a prohibited transaction. Essentially, the prohibited transaction rules were made to discourage certain persons, called disqualified persons, from dealing with the income and assets of the plan in a self-dealing manner. As a result, disqualified persons are prohibited from directly or indirectly entering into or benefiting from your IRA’s investments. The assets of a plan are to be invested in a manner which benefits the plan itself and not the IRA owner (other than as a beneficiary of the IRA) or any other disqualified person. Investment transactions are supposed to be on an arms-length basis. Disqualified persons to your IRA include, among others, yourself, your spouse, your parents and other lineal ascendants, your kids and other lineal descendants and their spouses, and any corporation, partnership trust or estate which is owned or controlled by any combination of these persons. It is essential when choosing a custodian or administrator that the company you choose is very knowledgeable in this area. Even though no self-directed IRA custodian or administrator will give you tax, legal or investment advice, the education they provide will be critical to your success as a self-directed IRA investor.

 

6) Some IRA Investments May Cause Your IRA to Owe Taxes – But That May Be Okay. Normally an IRA’s income and profits are exempt from taxation until a distribution is taken (or not at all, if it is a qualifying distribution from a Roth IRA). However, there are three circumstances when an IRA may owe tax on its profits. First, if the IRA is engaged in an unrelated trade or business, either directly or indirectly through a non-taxable entity such as an LLC or a limited partnership, the IRA will owe tax on its share of Unrelated Business Income (UBI). Second, the IRA will owe taxes if it has rental income from personal property, such as a mobile home not treated as real estate under state law (but rents from real property are exempt from tax if the property is debt-free). Finally, if the IRA owns, either directly or indirectly, property subject to debt, it will owe tax only on the portion of its income derived from the debt, which is sometimes referred to as Unrelated Debt Financed Income (UDFI). This may sound like something you never would want to do, but a more careful analysis may lead you to the conclusion that paying tax now in your IRA may be the way to financial freedom in your retirement. For example, one client made a net gain of over 1,000% in less than four months after her IRA paid this tax. This is definitely a topic you will want to learn more about, but it is not something you should shut your mind to before investigating whether the after tax returns on your investment would exceed the return you might otherwise be able to achieve in your IRA.

 

8) 2010 Brings an Incredible Gift From Your Government. Most people who understand the benefits of a Roth IRA really want one, but many people have not been able to qualify for this incredible wealth building tool because of income limitations which restrict the eligibility of a person to contribute to a Roth IRA or to convert pre-tax accounts like Traditional IRAs into a Roth IRA. In 2010 the rules for conversions will change so that anyone, regardless of income level, will be eligible to do a Roth conversion. Beginning in 2010 anyone who has a Traditional IRA (including a SEP IRA), a SIMPLE IRA which has been in existence for at least two years, or a former employer retirement plan such as a 401(k) or a 403(b) can convert those into a Roth IRA and can then begin to create tax free wealth for their retirement. Even if you do not currently have an IRA but are eligible to contribute to a Traditional IRA, the contribution can be made and immediately converted into a Roth IRA. This truly is one of the most exciting tax planning opportunities to come along in a very long time!

 

9) There Are Millions of Dollars Available to Finance Your Real Estate Deals Right Now. We are in a very exciting time for wise real estate investors. There are a lot of super real estate bargains out there right now, but it can be very difficult for investors to get financing – unless they know the secret of private financing. There are billions of dollars of lazy IRA money sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right investment, because many people are very afraid of the stock market. Included among the many things people can invest in with a self-directed IRA are real estate secured loans or even unsecured loans. Shakespeare wrote in his play Hamlet, “Neither a lender nor a borrower be, for a loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.” I believe Shakespeare was wrong, but he might be forgiven since he did not have the advantage of knowing about self-directed IRAs. You can benefit from your knowledge of self-directed IRAs either by having your IRA be a private lender or by borrowing OPI – Other People’s IRAs – for your real estate transactions. Networking is the key to success in the area of private lending or borrowing, but there are things you must know to do it properly.

 

10) Use Options to Dramatically Boost Your Small IRA. Options are one of the most powerful and under-utilized tools in real estate investing today, and they work beautifully within a self-directed IRA. The consideration for the option and the property being optioned can be almost anything, not just real estate. Once an IRA owns an option, it can 1) let the option lapse (which at times is the right answer), 2) exercise the option and acquire the property, 3) assign the option for a fee (assuming the option agreement allows for assignment) or 4) agree to cancel the option for a fee with the property owner, thereby getting paid not to buy the property! Options are very flexible and can be designed to fit almost any situation. One client paid $5,000 from his Roth IRA for an option which he later canceled for a fee of over $35,000. Then he took that money, bought a property at a foreclosure auction for cash, and later sold the property for $70,000 with $5,000 down and a $65,000 seller-financed note. By using the option he was able to take his $5,000 Roth IRA and turn it into a $70,000 Roth in less than a year!

 

Truthfully there are many more things that you should know about self-directed IRAs. To learn more, attend one or more of Quest Trust Company’s many free networking and educational events. You can get the entire schedule of events in addition to playing pre­recorded webinars by going to our website at www.QuestIRA.com. Happy investing!

 

H. Quincy Long is an attorney who holds the designation of Certified IRA Services Professional (CISP) and is President of Quest Trust Company, Inc., a third party administrator of self-directed IRAs with offices in Houston and Dallas, TX and Mason, MI. He may be reached by email at Quincy@QuestTrust.com. Nothing in this article is intended as tax, legal or investment advice. © Copyright 2009 H. Quincy Long. All rights reserved.