Trading Retirement Dollars for a Mortgage

I'm relatively sure this answer is wrong, or at least misses the point of the question.

The question is not "can I withdraw my retirement funds to avoid a mortgage", it's "can I take a loan from them if I pay it back".

My understanding is you can take loans from your IRA for this (or any other) purpose, but you must pay competitive interest rates, and the repayment term is the kicker... I believe it's 3 years or tax penalties start kicking in.... so, it might be a good idea if you are 56.5 yeard old!

Dan of TX 5:26PM June 07, 2012