As one who has been self directing an IRA now for two years I find some of the comments here to be overly discouraging and - at best - misleading.

Fairmark states: You can't sell property to your IRA, or buy property from your IRA. "

No, but you can take property as a distribution from the IRA at normal retirement age (or early via the IRS 72t provision) For instance: You buy a dandy condo at a great pre-construction price. You can't live in it, but you can rent it until you retire and then take it as a distribution. Yes, you'll pay taxes on the distribution, just as you would on a stock or bond.

Fairmark: "You can't loan money to your IRA, or borrow money from your IRA."

True. But you can borrow from someone else's IRA. And you can loan money to others. ( Something I'm having good success with)

Fairmark: "You can't use the account, or any part of it, as security for a loan."

Not quite true. You can borrow against real estate held in the IRA. However,the loan must be non-recourse to you personally as well as to the IRA's other assets. Only the specific property loaned against can secure the loan.

Your comments about poor disclosure are probably true. But is this a good reason for avoiding this investment alternative? One can get poor and/or improper advice from just about anywhere. There are reputable custodians out there who will help with the education process. Like all investing, information is essential and there is a world of information available on the internet as well as from IRS pubs. Self directed IRA investing requires that you do some homework, but once you know the rules, it is a great way to invest.