Self Directed IRA’s are powerful.  Self-directed IRA’s are flexible.  Self-Directed IRA’s can help to make you very, very rich.  And today, I’ll give you the sobering reason to consider abandoning your self-directed IRA, and to never, ever use it again.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll give you the reasons, and the solution, RIGHT NOW in episode #140.------Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you.My friends… I’m going to do it again today… I’ll bang the drum on the risk of prohibited transactions, and why those of you who are doing real estate transactions – or investing in nearly any non-exchange-traded assets – are taking a huge, unnecessary risk by sticking blindly to the use of your self-directed IRA.But first… HOLY COW, people!  Clearly, a whole lot of you are interested in owning some cash-flowing rentals!  Registrations for this week’s webinar about that topic have absolutely blown up.  Here’s the deal:  I’ve found one of those gold-mind types of opportunities.  A very successful real estate investor owns a portfolio of over 50 properties, but he’s in a serious legal dispute with his business partner, and their mediation requires them to liquidate these properties quickly.  That’s created a huge, wonderful opportunity because, folks… these are some incredibly solid cash-flowing deals.  I’m talking about properties that can be bought in the mid-$50,000 range that are collecting rents of $750-$800… and for reasons I’ll explain to you on the webinar this week, tenants tend to stay in these properties for 3-5 years and never, ever miss payments.  It’s a beautiful situation.  Anyway, bottom line is that even after expenses and reserves, most of the 19 or so properties I picked out of that portfolio are still yielding 12% cash-on-cash… and sometimes, quite a bit more.  Several of those properties are ALREADY gone, as some other smart investors like you have already jumped on it, so we’re down to somewhere around 13 remaining as of now.  Bottom line:  You’ll need to act quickly if highly cash-flowing property, fully managed, with very long-term, low-maintenance tenancies is something that appeals to you.  The webinar where I’ll tell all of you about it as a group is THIS week, and you can get the FREE registration link by texting the word TOPPICKS to 33444 right now.  I’ll give that to you again in just a minute, but also if you’re an existing client of mine and you’d like to chat with me personally about this BEFORE the webinar, you know I’m happy to talk with you, as existing clients get first shot at everything.  If that’s you, just go to SDIRadio.com/consultation and set up an appointment time, and I’ll be glad to talk with you.  And if you’re not an existing client, please be sure to join me on the webinar… register by texting the word TOPPICKS – spelled toppicks with no spaces – to 33444.  Text TOPPICKS to 33444.So, my friends, the importance of prohibited transactions can’t be overstated, and since most IRA custodians won’t do you the good service of making it clear to you just how risky it is to use a Self-Directed IRA to buy any non-exchange-traded assets, clearly that responsibility falls to me, and I gladly bear it for you, my dear listeners.Very quickly… a prohibited transaction is when you break a certain set of rules that the IRS has put in place that limits, to a small degree, what you can do with your account, and with whom you can do such things.  Bottom line:  If you break any one of those rules when using your IRA, your account is BLOWN UP, and the financial ramifications will be truly, deeply severe.  Ever seen those pictures of Nagasaki, Japan, when the atom bomb was dropped on it, forming a huge mushroom cloud?  It’s the financial equivalent of that… it’s a disaster if you commit one of these things within a self-directed IRA.  It’s entirely plausible to lose 50% or more… up to the whole thing… due to taxes, penalties and interest.  It’s an absolute disaster…