Best way to handle a house/land split & flip?
I had a question that was a bit above my current knowledge level, wanted to get some opinions here (thank you in advance). 2 months ago, my wife and I purchased an investment home that sits on a double lot. My agent suggested that our purchase price approximated the value of the home alone, which the comps seem to support, and the strategy has been to do some minor remodels to the home (finish basement by adding a 3rd bedroom, modest remodel of upstairs bathroom), then sell the home, and either sell the raw land separately, or build a house on the raw land and sell that - either way we will be doing a lot line-adjustment so that the house sits on a single lot. I'm confident that the pieces are more valuable than the whole here.
What I am primarily concerned about is the tax consequences. Specifically, how does the tax basis split between land & home upon the sale? Do i need to wait 12 months to sell either piece of property in order to avoid short-term capital gains tax? And what are my options on a 1031 exchange - my wife and I currently own 8 core workhouse single family rentals, so the thought would be to use the proceeds from this opportunity to reinvest into more core workhorse properties.
Thank you for your time