Real estate has become one of the hottest investment vehicles around. Always popular, real estate has grown in investors' opinions since the dot-com bubble burst and the securities markets started showing their weaknesses to new generations of investors. Real estate is a tangible asset that can be seen, touched, and rented out. A well structured real estate deal on a rental property can actually pay for itself over time.

Texas like many other parts of the country is experiencing a boom in real estate demand. Whether you are looking for single-family homes, condominiums, apartment complexes, or commercial development, real estate is hot. There may come a day when the real estate market suffers a correction from runaway speculation, but even then investors will retain value in their real estate assets rather than being left holding worthless pieces of paper.

Investment dollars from California New Jersey and other highly appreciated real estate regions are flocking to Texas cities that have large college populations. Cities such as College Station, Denton, Austin and Galveston have a high ratio of college related tenants offering a solid return on investment.

Enacting real estate deals within a traditionally structured and custodied IRA can be quite difficult and can cost you excessive amounts in fees. If you want to invest your IRA in real estate, you should open a self-directed IRA LLC. An IRA LLC gives you checkbook control over your IRA so you can quickly move on properties and pay associated expenses directly from your IRA without triggering fees from your IRA custodian.

Opening a Real Estate IRA

Trying to find a custodian for your self-directed IRA on your own can be exceedingly difficult and time-consuming. Larger financial institutions usually will not do it. Self-directed IRA advisors that specialize in self-directed IRAs are the way to go. These companies usually already have all the required documentation and may have relationships with companies that will custody self-directed IRAs. Look out for fees, though. Self-directed IRA advisory firms have negotiated favorable fees to the absolute minimum and can save you enormous amounts of money over the long term.