Most investors think of their IRA as a bucket of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds tucked into the corner to grow for retirement. That’s the default, but it’s certainly not the only option.

A self-directed IRA (SDIRA) opens the door to far more tangible assets, including real estate. For buy-and-hold investors who already believe in the power of rental properties, an SDIRA is a way to put decades of retirement savings to work in an asset class you trust.

Here’s how it works—and what you need to know before diving in.

Picture this: two investors start at roughly the same place. They have the same amount of capital, the same basic understanding of turnkey real estate, and similar goals. Five years later, one has a growing portfolio generating meaningful passive income. The other still has that first property and a list of reasons why now isn't the right time to buy another.

What separates them isn't luck, timing, or access to secret information. It's intention — and a few patterns that either fuel growth or work against it.

We propose that there are four main “traps” that turnkey investors fall into, which keep them from scaling effectively and from building world-class portfolios. Here’s how to make sure you don’t get stuck the same way!

Every time the Federal Reserve signals that interest rates will remain elevated, the collective groan from would-be real estate investors is almost audible. Higher borrowing costs mean tighter margins, steeper monthly payments, and more conservative cash flow projections.

Some of us are still hoping for those 3% rates of 2020 and 2021, and adjusting to the present is jarring.

It might seem counterintuitive, but a prolonged higher-rate environment isn’t uniformly bad for real estate investors. For buy-and-hold investors specifically, it may even create some of the most durable conditions for long-term wealth-building.

A lot of people have outdated assumptions about who rents their homes. In this day and age, renting isn’t something people necessarily do out of necessity. While that may be the case, more and more people are choosing to rent.

What is the best way to invest in real estate? While an investor can utilize numerous strategies and approaches to pursue financial freedom, it starts with one debate: active versus passive investing.

ATTOM, a curated real estate data titan, recently released the second quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. And if you own property in the United States, things are looking up. 49.2% of mortgaged residential properties are considered “equity-rich.” This means these properties have a combined estimated loan balance under half of the property’s estimated value.

If you want to lose your mind, try to keep up with all the predictions being made about the real estate market. Doing so is exhausting. Even if some interpretations and predictions have merit, they’re just that – predictions. In many ways, the headlines are designed to scare us. Navigating news on the real estate market is frustrating: full of mixed messages and emotionally charged rhetoric.

And for every opinion you see, you’ll find one to counter it. 

So, how do we move forward without fear as real estate investors? After all, we don't have time to be paralyzed by every doom-and-gloom headline. You're in luck - here are the secrets to fearless real estate investing.

2024 seems like it will break out of some of the downward real estate trends we’ve seen due to rising interest rates and inflation. While it’s unlikely we’ll see a break-out year for real estate, signs indicate that conditions will warm up to buyers over the next few years.

During different seasons and cycles of the real estate market, investors will find their priorities changing. Maybe property acquisitions must take a backseat or decrease in frequency. When your focus must shift, you may not always know what to do with yourself.

While high interest rates make investing in real estate more challenging, it remains a viable and profitable investment strategy. We also want to point out that real estate isn’t the only asset impacted by interest rates.