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Buying & Selling Real Estate

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Matt Haaga
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Louisville, KY
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Transferring a building between family

Matt Haaga
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Louisville, KY
Posted Jul 7 2019, 15:17

My dad owns a duplex outright, valued ~350k, and renting for $2,200/mo. The return on equity isn't ideal, but he's retired and holds the property as a stable source of income. 

He doesn't like being a landlord. I have offered to buy the property from him, owner financed, to maintain his stable income, but he says it doesn't make sense to increase the cost basis of the property and pay capital gains on the sale (he intends to leave the property to me, and my understanding is that the cost basis would therefore step up at inheritance and avoid the tax liability). 

His idea is to lease me the property long-term. I would pay him $1,250/mo and collect any income above that amount. I would pay for all maintenance, turnover, etc. Again, I'm ultimately inheriting the property, and while I know that relying on anything that far in the future isn't ideal, the income seems secure for now with no initial capital investment, and it's likely that any equity gain through improvements would be transferred to me in the future. 

Has anyone ever set up a deal like this within their family? Are there other, more creative options that avoid the capital gains tax but effectively transfer the property or income into my name? Do any red flags go up on reading this idea? 

Thanks for the feedback! 

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Richard Ring
  • Flipper/Rehabber
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Richard Ring
  • Flipper/Rehabber
Replied Jul 7 2019, 19:45

Hire a Property manager 

Problem sloved

User Stats

3
Posts
1
Votes
Matt Haaga
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Louisville, KY
1
Votes |
3
Posts
Matt Haaga
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Louisville, KY
Replied Jul 7 2019, 20:15

@Richard Ring sorry, I may not have been clear on this point:

He wants a minimum of 1250/mo. Rather than him hire a property manager, he’s willing to let me manage it and take any additional income above the 1250/mo.

So he wants to “transfer” the property to me in a way that secures his income but also allows me to take control of the rental, optimize the cash flow, and receive additional income for myself.

Hiring a property manager would potentially take me out of the equation, and I want the income he’s offering.

I offered to buy the property through owner financing to pay him 1250/mo with no money down and basically secure his stable income, but the sale would raise the cost basis and result in taxes for him. So he’s offered to lease it to me for 1250/mo, and I would manage the property and keep any additional income.

The question is: is there a more practical way to set this up than leasing a property from my father?

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