Self Directed Investor Talk: Alternative Asset Investing Through Self-directed Ira's & Solo 401k's

 ONE TOPIC is irresistible catnip for real estate investors:  the Self-Directed IRA.  This special form of IRA enables investors to deploy their retirement capital into real estate, and to enjoy the substantial tax benefits offered by IRAs.IRAs can bring such substantial tax savings that it is easy to assume that any investment that can be performed in an IRA should be performed in an IRA.  But the devil is in the details, and real estate may be the only asset class for which the use of an IRA could be a fundamentally poor decision.Here are 5 devastating traps awaiting the real estate investor who uses a Self-Directed IRA:Punishing TaxesIt would be reasonable to assume that using an IRA would result in the payment of less taxes than without it.  Alas, that is frequently false.Users of the “Roth” type of IRA have the best tax advantage ever created:  Your profits are 100% tax-free, and that advantage is impossible to beat.But what about “Traditional” IRAs, which are merely tax-deferred rather than tax-free?  T