All Forum Posts by: George Carnicle

Hi @Ben Rutkevitz

I read through the thread and I didn't see any feedback on Paradigm Life directly as you requested... :)

I haven't personally worked with anyone at Paradigm but I know that at least 2 of the agents are Authorized Infinite Banking practitioners and have friends who do business with them. I recommend that you listen to what they have to say, read the literature they recommend, do your research and then make your well informed decision if what they presented is good for you and your situation.

@Steve Kordish is right they shouldn't be calling the policy an investment. It's not... A whole life policy that is optimized for banking has a guaranteed death benefit and cash value you will be contractually entitled to if you keep up your end of the deal (pay your insurance premiums) As we all know an investment goes up and down in value depending on external factors. There is no guarantee of performance or even future value. Josh Dorkin does a great job of giving this disclaimer every time on the podcast.
@Derek Lacy made a great point! If they focus on the non guaranteed side of the policy illustration and promise you x% returns in the future you should definitely stay away from them. That definitely sounds like a scheme you should stay away from.

To help you in your endeavors here are some things you should be listening for:
- The insurance company they use should be a mutual company.
- They should be talking about whole life insurance not variable or universal life.
- The sample illustrations they work with using your information should accentuate the cash value instead of the death benefit.

I bought my first "infinite banking" policy in 12/2009 and this year will mark 6 years of using my policy to finance things in my life. Over the past few years I have used the money to pay for my honeymoon, finance investments, pay off unexpected medical bills and pay my property taxes all while having a permanent death benefit in place. I've enjoyed getting what I paid for and look forward to making that monthly payment because I know that it's going to be right there for when I want to make my next financial move. In my opinion a correctly setup whole life policy should be part of everyone's financial arsenal because of the security, flexibility, protection and freedom it provides.

@Jeff Pollack Thanks for the read!

Great catch on the 401k! My current employers uses Fidelity as their custodian and we have the ability to use 401k loans. Great creative finance recommendation! Unfortunately I don't have that kind of money in my 401k yet. However I am using a 401k loan to do rehab work and will continue to save my way towards being able to finance larger acquisitions in the future.

Thanks for the tip!

@Danny Simard Thanks for the read and thank you for serving our country!

The house is located in Murray Hill.

I can highly recommend investing in Jacksonville. Shad Khan is adding so much value economically and is actively looking to do more as opportunities arise. The geographic location of Jacksonville is about as good as it can get too. I'm excited to see what the next 3-5 years will bring us here. (Please take this opinion with caution and do your own due diligence since this is my first "investment" and my primary residence to boot. :))

@Anthony Dooley Thanks for the read!

Where are you at in your time table? Have you made it to 12 months yet? Have you tried anything else to get to your "purchased" equity faster?

@Patrick McGowen Thanks for the read!

I'm definitely more buy and hold inclined. Great catch! The current payment structure is definitely something I can do indefinitely.

My wife is currently taking daily progress pictures for Facebook so I've got that covered quite well. It's fun watching her take ownership of this house as it comes together.

I agree with you on living below your means. I would take it one step further and say that everyone should do that not just real estate investors. America would be a different and much better place for it, in my opinion. I'm currently saving / investing about 25% of my take home pay and working toward pushing that closer to 50% Mr. Money Mustache style.

Great suggestion on the 0% credit card option! I have done that successfully before for various other purchases. I'll definitely look into that. Thanks for the reminder! The 17% loan is definitely my first priority.

Thank you for the long term advice! I feel like I've done a great deal and want to move on to the next one. I'll work on slowing down, enjoying this win and move on to the next step once it's time. For now there is definitely a lot of work I can do to improve this house! 

@Christian Bors Thanks for the read!

I'm with you! However my 687 credit score isn't super stellar and the fact that I financed a new car in June probably didn't help either. I really needed that missing 15k of the total amount and was out of options short of liquidating my 401k, other investments, draining my savings account and maxing out my credit card. I was pretty happy to get it as quickly and "easily" as I did.

Good to know about the less than 12 month seasoning potentials! I'll keep rehabbing away and see where we get in 3+ months and start reaching out to the banks then. 

What other factor should I take into consideration? Variable interest rate on the HELOC?

@Jim Sokoloff Thanks for the read!

The personal loan is actually for 14k at 17.25% with a 37 month term. My monthly payment on that piece is $499.17. I reran the numbers and they added up.

I'm glad you questioned it, cause I never actually checked to make sure what the bank told me was true. Will add double checking financial obligations to my to do list in the future!

@Larry Turowski Thanks for the read and comment!

I am definitely looking for a LTV type product. I've been leaning towards trying to get a HELOC because of it's "there when you need it" availability.

As far as rehabbing goes,
I will have painted the entire interior by the end of this week. The kitchen will be brought to present day from it's current mid 80's style right after that. I plan on replacing the dual AC units which are still working 23 years after installation before the end of the year. I am also getting quotes to install a metal roof, which will replace the shingle roof it currently has. 

Sounds like I will need to get that done before going to see what the bank will give me. I'll also pursue the hard money lender route as well to see what's out there. Do you have any advice on where to start and what to look for?

Hello everyone!

Disclaimer: I listened to every podcast on my daily 7 mile round trip bike commute to my jobs before pulling the trigger to purchase a house / investment property. AND I did read the "recent" forum discussions and tried finding more information on the blog before posting this. However if I missed the answer somewhere on the site please link to it and I will save us all some time and read that! :) Thank you in advance for your help!

My story:
My wife and I are expecting our first live baby in November (we lost a daughter at 37 weeks pregnant last December) and until then I'm working 2 jobs that keep me busy 7 days a week. The money is nice but I'm really looking forward to being a dad!

Thanks to Zillow.com and Homesearch.com we found a Jacksonville, FL, 1'800 sq ft, 3/1.5, on .3 acres, with pool foreclosure for auction and won the bid for 30k including all fees and closing costs. I pieced together the cash needed for the deal through an interest only loan from a friend (15k at 7% interest only for 2 years, with option to renegotiate at the end or pay off in full) and a personal loan from my bank (15k at 17% fully amortized over 3 years). The house is completely mine free and clear. It is not collateral for my existing financing package. The total cost to me per month is $587 which is $150 less than I currently pay in rent on a 2/1 apartment. We closed on this house on 8/5/14 and will be moving into it this coming weekend.

My question:
How and when can I get access to the equity I purchased in this house? By my very conservative estimate the house should appraise for at least 80k today and possibly for as much as 150k once updated as planned. I understand there is a "seasoning" period of 12 months from the date I purchased it. Is there any way for me to get a HELOC or equivalent sooner than that? I plan to use the funds to acquire more pieces of my real estate empire and would really like to start sooner than later.

Thank you for at least making it to the end of the post! I would be honored to get your thoughts on the deal and greatly appreciate any help on accessing my equity!

@Lafi S. Did you ever buy an infinite banking policy? I bought one in Dec 2009 and am curious how yours is doing today.

@Bill Gulley If I understand it correctly insurance companies pay dividends on the entire cash value even if a portion is loaned to the policy owner. The reason for that is because the cash value loan is guaranteed by the death benefit of the policy which was engineered to be sustainable.

The mutual insurance company will always get paid first.
At death: Death benefit - outstanding loans = payout to beneficiaries
At policy lapse: Policy owner is only entitled to the cash value they have accumulated.

I'm currently working my way through the podcast from present day to the beginning and have yet to hear anything about the cost of using OPM. From what I've gathered so far 40+ episodes into this the average buy and hold RE investor takes that into consideration and is "ok" with that cost as long as the property has positive cash flow. Some of them try to refinance their properties so they can cash out their investment and others get the properties paid off quickly so they own them free and clear. I understand the reasons for this which are mostly personal and risk tolerance related.

Could you give me your thoughts on using the cash value in a WL insurance policy to finance real estate deals? I read through the thread but didn't see you mention anything about recapturing the mortgage (principal and interest) payments which increases cash flow and basically refills the pipe so the investor can pull the trigger on the next investment property?

PS: I'm new to this website and the concept of real estate investing and would love to get your thoughts especially since you have the experience you do!