Looking for advise—thinking of selling my home for a 4 plex

Looking for advise—thinking of selling my home for a 4 plex

Rental Property Investor · fresno · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 4 votes

Hi guys,

Im looking for advise. Im thinking of selling my single family home, which i purchased last year, for a 4 plex. The house was built brandnew last year in a new development. It has 5 rooms; 2 of the rooms are in the mother in law guest suite with its own private entry. Im single with no kids so I rent out all the rooms (4 x $700 for a total of $2800 per month) and i stay in the master room. The mortgage is $3000 per month so im paying very little here, almost living there for free. However, my passion is in multifamily homes so my real estate agent advised me to sell it and get a 4 plex. Id love to keep my current home and buy a 4 plex on top of it but i dont have the capital right now to do that. So Should i sell it? Is this a wise decision? I really dont want to sell as I love the house and the neighborhood. If i sell it i will have to end up living in one of my 4 plexes and rent out the other 3 units.

Also, my real estate agent said I dont qualify for a 1031 exchange because this is a owner occupied house im selling not a rental. However, he said i dont need to do a 1031 exchange cause I dont need to pay taxes because its not a rental. Is this true?

Please advise guys. Im pretty new to this real estate investing game. Thank you in advance for the help

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Dave FosterBusiness Member
Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 9k+ votes
6y

@Long Nguyen, You may or may not be able to do a 1031 exchange depending on how you've accounted for those rentors.  However, your realtor is right that you would be better off selling and using the primary residence exclusion so your sale could be tax free.  But you have to have lived in the property for two out of the 5 years prior to selling it.  So it sounds like you need to live in that property for another year before you can take the 121 exclusion.  But if you have the time and patience that would be a great way to go.

The 1031 Investor5137 Reviews
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  • Real Estate Agent · Naples, FL · Member since 2016 · 298 posts · 268 votes
    6y

    Do you have the ability to do both? Is a heloc a possibility? Stay where you are and purchase the rental property? 

  • Dave FosterBusiness Member
    Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    6y

    @Long Nguyen, You may or may not be able to do a 1031 exchange depending on how you've accounted for those rentors.  However, your realtor is right that you would be better off selling and using the primary residence exclusion so your sale could be tax free.  But you have to have lived in the property for two out of the 5 years prior to selling it.  So it sounds like you need to live in that property for another year before you can take the 121 exclusion.  But if you have the time and patience that would be a great way to go.

    The 1031 Investor5137 Reviews
  • James DainardPro Member
    Real Estate Broker · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2015 · 415 posts · 1k+ votes
    6y
    If you have owned the home for longer than two years, you will be exempt from the first $250,000 in profit. My advice: As an investment, If you can trade a non conforming rental for a conforming income producing rental its always a better long term hold. But it does depend on income potential on the 4 plex.
  • Rental Property Investor · fresno · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 4 votes
    6y

    @Frank Procopio

    I wish I have the ability to do both but right now I dont have the capital to do that. I tried applying for another HELOC but was denied due to high debt/income ratio

  • Rental Property Investor · fresno · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 4 votes
    6y

    @Dave Foster

    Im glad I asked this question because I only lived there for only 1 year so I dont qualify for the 1021 exclusion yet

  • Rental Property Investor · fresno · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 4 votes
    6y

    @James Dainard

    Thanks for the advice. What do you mean by conforming vs non conforming ?

  • Rental Property Investor · East Longmeadow, MA · Member since 2019 · 154 posts · 64 votes
    6y

    @Long Nguyen. A mortgage of 200 isn’t bad. Plus utilities and other items. If I was you I’d live there and build capital to buy a rental on top of it!!! Value can still appreciate while building equity. Also research if you rent more than 3 years you may not be able to exclude gain on sale of home. Good luck

  • Bob NortonPro Member
    Accountant · Slidell, LA · Member since 2019 · 382 posts · 272 votes
    6y

    @Long Nguyen It sounds like your agent wants to get two commissions from helping you sell your home and buy a 4-plex.  

    I agree with @Luke Saglimbeni. Keep renting the rooms, saving the rents to build capital, amortize your existing loan, and let the house appreciate. Then, in a few years, you could buy a 4-plex and keep your house, using your savings and getting a HELOC on your equity built up from amortization + appreciation.

  • Rental Property Investor · fresno · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 4 votes
    6y

    @Bob Norton

    Thank you Bob. I was thinking the same. It sounded fishy so thats why I decided to ask this question on here for a second opinion. again, Thanks for the input!

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