Buying a house? Call 1-800-ROTH-IRA

No actually don't call that, I have no idea who will answer.

BUT as an addendum to why the Roth IRA makes a sweet F U money vehicle, I wanted to mention the "first-time homebuyer exception."

This allows you to withdraw any funds for a "first-time" home purchase – regardless of your age. There is a penalty if you withdraw earnings that haven't baked in the account for 5 years.

I put "first-time" in air quotes because...

You don't actually have to be a "first-time" buyer

The Investopedia article says:

Interestingly, you may still qualify as a first-time homebuyer even if you've owned a home in the past.

INDEED INVESTOPEDIA. TELL ME MORE.

The IRS considers you a first-time homebuyer if you (and your spouse, if you have one) haven’t owned a home during the previous two years.

So if you sold your previous residence, and rented an apartment for 2 years, you could then be considered a first-time homebuyer. Dang IRS you tricksy hobbitses!

In real life...

I used our Roth IRA in 2017 to put money towards our down payment. In that case, I didn't even need the exception – it was all contribution money. But it's good to know that it's available if you do need it.

Cheers,
Kamran