I purchased and renovated a property via my self-directed 401k. The plan was to get a nonrecourse loan to cash out refi and rinse and repeat. I’ve run into a little difficulty because of the mortgage fraud that has hit Baltimore and Philly. Lenders are backing out of funding both cities right now. What other options do I have to get cash out of the property and back into my 401K to rinse and repeat?

I think one of the biggest cures for shiny object syndrome is realizing that everything you do is going to be hard. There's no easy path to financial freedom. There's always going to be challenges in every journey.

Join us tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct 21) at 11 AM (ET) for our weekly Coffee Hour ☕️ This week, I’ll be joined by Joel Landon — a seasoned expert in self-directed retirement accounts who’s been helping people take control of their retirement capital for years. If you’ve ever wanted to understand how SDIRAs or Solo 401(k)s actually work in real life, this is one you don’t want to miss. 📅 Tuesday, Oct 21 at 11 AM (ET)📍 Join via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89036340079

Hi All, I’ve been digging deeper into self-directed retirement accounts lately to better understand the tools people are using. One topic that comes up a lot is the checkbook-controlled IRA. It’s a setup where the IRA owns an LLC, and the account holder (as manager) writes checks or wires directly from that LLC. The appeal is clear: faster transactions and fewer custodian delays. I recently spoke with an industry veteran who’s seen this structure play out in practice. Here’s the summary of what I was learned: Why some people use it - Bypass custodian delays and fees - Move quickly on deals like private lending Where the caution comes in - Because the account holder is both owner of the IRA and manager of the LLC, it can look like too much direct control. - Different custodians treat it differently. Some won’t allow it; others do, but it’s still a gray area. - If it were ever questioned, the “fix” would usually be administrative (re-titling assets back into the IRA) — not catastrophic, but inconvenient. Other considerations - Some folks try to get around the control issue by naming a third party as LLC manager. That reduces one risk but creates another (trusting someone else with your funds). - For slower, one-off deals (like a single syndication), a standard custodian-processed IRA can be just fine. Bottom line Checkbook-controlled IRAs do exist and people use them, but they sit in a compliance gray area. For some investors the speed is worth it, for others the simplicity of a custodian held self directed IRA (or a Solo 401k if eligible) is a better fit.