As in Sports, You Can Also Warm Up in Real Estate

Real estate investing is a vast and open field. Ask any successful real estate investor and they will tell you that investing in real estate can be an overwhelming task for first time investors, especially IRA investors who are new to investing in real estate with their IRA funds; although one may be have purchased real estate as a personal residence, purchasing investment property is an entirely different animal and it requires a totally different skill set if one wishes to be successful. First time investors can easily be overwhelmed when directly buying and selling '123 Main Street' due to either a lack of real estate investing experience, a lack of time, or a small amount of funds in a 401K/IRA. Real Estate like products such as (tax liens, private mortgage notes, real estate notes, private REITS, or private limited partnerships) might be just the right fit for first time investors who truly wish to begin investing in real estate like products without hassling with collecting rents, dealing with tenants, or lining up contractors to rehab properties.
If you're hesitant to begin your real estate financial education by "wheeling and dealing" in properties, you can choose to go on "warm-up" mode. One way of warming up without feeling that you're diving head on into uncharted waters is by purchasing some shares issued by a private real estate investment trust (REITs) which you've may have heard about. Private REITs are companies that typically own and manage large undertakings like warehouses and shopping centers and office buildings.
If you are keen on IRA wealth building strategies, a smart maneuver would be to own shares in several private REITs. Your self-directed IRA adviser should be able to come up with a short list.
However, history has proven that investing in the real estate market - selling/buying and managing properties - will give you an edge over passive investors who stick to more traditional ways of investing. So ideally you'd have private REITs in your portfolio when you're in your 20's and 30's. By the time you hit your 40's and 50's, and begin to feel that real estate runs in your blood, you may want to take a more aggressive stance by buying and selling within your IRA and still be able to enjoy tax-deferred growth.