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What are my options for selling or taking possession of real estate held in my STRATA account?

If you plan to sell, finance, or transfer directly owned real estate held in your STRATA IRA, there are several options depending on your situation. Please refer to our Real Estate Sales Checklist for complete instructions and required documentation.

Selling property

You may sell directly owned property owned by your STRATA account to a third party. In some cases, your IRA may seller finance the transaction, allowing the STRATA account to hold the promissory note and deed of trust or mortgage within the account. Any principal and interest payments received will be deposited into your STRATA account.

For additional details, please see STRATA’s  Investment Checklist for Private Debt.

Documentation checklist: 

  • Purchase contract: When your STRATA account sells real estate, the seller on the purchase contract must be STRATA Trust Company Custodian FBO (Accountholder Name) Account (#). You will sign the contract as “Read and Approved”, and STRATA will sign in its capacity as the custodian.
  • Closing documents/settlement statement: You will sign all of the closing documents as “Read and Approved”, and then STRATA will sign in its capacity as the custodian. Provide any overnight and/or fax instructions for STRATA on the Direction to Sell form to deliver the closing documents to the title company/closing attorney. You may also include a pre-paid FedEx or UPS label.
  • Deed: The title company/closing attorney should also draft a deed for signature with STRATA Trust Company, Custodian FBO (Accountholder Name) Account (#) as the grantor.
  • Deposit of sales proceeds: Your IRA must receive all sales proceeds after the closing. The title company/closing attorney should send the funds to STRATA Trust Company as outlined on STRATA's Deposit Certification form.

Taking personal possession of property

If you decide you want to personally own the property currently held in your STRATA account, you may take possession through an in-kind distribution.

An in-kind distribution transfers the property from the STRATA retirement account to you personally at its current fair market value. Depending on your age and tax situation, this may result in taxes and possible early distribution penalties if you are under age 59½. To complete an in-kind distribution, you will need to provide:

    • A completed Distribution Request Form

    • A deed prepared for STRATA’s signature, transferring ownership from the STRATA account to you individually

    • Provide a current real estate valuation prepared by an independent third party, such as a licensed real estate appraiser or broker. Online estimates or automated valuation tools (such as Zillow or county tax records) are not accepted for asset distributions.