If the option of using tax-deferred funds to purchase property sounds appealing, you’ll need to locate an independent IRA custodian that allows real estate investments and work with that company to set up or “rollover” your IRA account. Most banks and brokerage companies—the most common IRA account options—limit your choices to certificates of deposit, stocks, mutual funds, annuities, and similar financial instruments. But Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code permits individuals to purchase land, commercial property, condominiums, residential property, trust deeds, or real estate contracts with funds held in many common forms of IRAs, including a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and a Simplified Employee Pension plan, or SEP-IRA.

To find a custodian that specializes in real estate, search under terms such as “real estate IRA” or “self-directed IRA” on the Internet. This latter term was coined by the financial industry in the 1980s to distinguish the self-directed IRA from other IRAs that focus on stocks and bonds. The IRA account holder can’t serve as the custodian of his or her own account.