All Forum Posts by: Matt Ruttenberg

You're casting a wide net with that financial advisor comment.  Flat fee and fee-only advisors don't work off of a commission-based business model. 

I think it's important to explain that not all advisors/planners work for companies that push commission based products, but it sounds like that is where your experience was.

But, I do agree that it's probably a good idea to separate those roles though... and not bundle a "jack of all trades" into your financial life.

CPAs often look in the short term, and not the long term.  So it needs to be balanced out and not by the same person.

Yeah tax planning is a different animal than tax prep.  Not sure if the cost is worth it, but I work with some others that do that as well.  If you want a few introductions, feel free to let me know.

Side note, one of the other gentlemen said financial planners aren't worth it because they sell you mutual funds and insurance.  That's not true unless you work with an advisor at an insurance company and they have sales goals.  Ignore him and I would interview more than one.

However, I would try to work with a team instead of all-in-one.  Each corner of the finance industry is completely different, and nobody can do it all well at the same time.

Feel free to reach out and I can give you intros.

I own a 401k administration company if you want to connect on this.  We work with many real estate investors that house RE within their plan.

Acting as a private lender has it's limitation inside of the plan though.  I assume you're self employed?  We're working through this with a client as we speak, and there is a lot of compliance around it.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions you want to discuss.

@Juan Tonche My company administers self-directed 401ks.  It's all about the plan document, and we use a custom plan document.  We have several clients that do this, with or without employees.

Feel free to reach out, we work with many real estate investors in this capacity.

@Jim K.

What a great question! But it really depends on a number of factors.

Full disclosure, I consult on this type of thing whether it’s for biz owners or RE investors for more estate planning type situations. In other words, how and what is passed on tot he kids.

Some want RE to pass to the kids as is, and some they want to liquidate because of the headaches you mentioned. It’s somewhat determined by their own experiences.

Also, some kids what the RE/business, and the other kids what cash. Or if there are multiple siblings, we ask which ones want which?

Usually, we’re using different types of trusts and entities structures to help with estate taxes, etc. Some are BDITs, SLATs, Charitable LLCs, etc.

Some help with getting out of the 1031 exchange cycle as well or even pass that to the kids or charities. Sometimes this is used for tax planning strategies as well.

Lots of different planning options for those with the same questions. But a very persona choice because there are sooo many paths.

Yeah there are a lot of under informed bloggers and content that don't look at the full picture of how it fits in unfortunately.  It definitely doesn't replace traditional investing, it's a means to other investments honestly.

I dont suggest it if you NEED life insurance, that's what term is for.  Simply because the design doesn't promote death benefit, it promotes cash value growth.

@Sage Weiss

I would consider infinite banking. You’re building up an asset that you can use for buying other assets.

I use this strategy with business owners quite a bit who’ve maxed out their retirement accounts.

Leverage, leverage, leverage!

 Nice work on funding the deal with life insurance!  Such a powerful tool when used right.

Feel free to reach out, I have expertise in the infinite banking and self-directed 401k side of things.  Curious what you're thinking.

Are you referring to the loan from the policy, or the loan to the investor?  The loan from the policy is tax free unless you've MEC'd the policy.