All Forum Posts by: Aaron Zimmerman

I second what @George Skidis said. I'm a younger investor and candidly not politically active. I did just join the Rogers Park Builders Group that does just that. This bill definitely charged me up. It is absolute lunacy to restrict a housing provider's ability to check credit. If that's the case, then lenders should not be able to check credit too which would also be ridiculous. 
If this bill passes, housing providers will not be taking chances with tenants. I would likely request bank statements for many months, if it is legally allowed to do so. It will continue to drive the housing crisis worse.

Given you're saving as much as possible, I'd look to see if there's a way to house hack a multi-unit. The income from the other units can count towards your DTI. If there's a way to get a higher paying job/get more hours, I'd recommend that if your goal is to start buying properties. You'll also want to set aside an emergency fund for your property (and for yourself).

I think that's a pretty reasonable thing especially if there's a lot of transitory people. As David Greene mentions there's a scale between comfort and profitability. The more comfort, the less profitable. That being said, buying a duplex or triplex is a better choice in my opinion as you can still have your living space and reduce your housing expense (albeit not as much). You can get creative with how you use the other 1-3 units whether it be short term rentals, medium term rentals, or long term rentals. 

As others have said, cash out/in does not equal profits. 

You would be able to deduct interest, taxes, insurance, and much more. It would be taxed as self employment income which would increase your tax burden. That said, you may qualify for QBI which would reduce the tax burden some. Definitely talk with a CPA that understands your situation. 

@Nate Pucel - as others have said, file an extension and hire it out.

There's a lot of items that you could capitalize as part of the rehab in addition to the hard costs (mortgage interest, taxes, insurance). This will help you out if and when you sell the property. In the meantime, more depreciation will be taken. 

As others have said, you can deduct up to $25k in losses, provided your income is below $100k without being a real estate professional. 

I'm very confused about question #3. It would be a similar scenario to this property. These costs would be capitalized as part of your basis in the property and depreciated, assuming it's a long term rental.

There are a lot of great CPAs on here. Given that you're in Texas and no state tax filing, you could work remotely if that's your preference. 

There are a lot of great CPAs in the forums. I'd recommend the tax pros finder on here or reaching out to people at your local meetups. 

It probably is beneficial to get a CPA or at least someone to double check that you're doing things reasonably correct. Calculating the right basis is crucial on rental properties and has large impacts down the road. 

@Daniela Damjanoski - I would recommend looking on the forums for CPAs or using the Biggerpockets CPA finder! There are a lot of great CPAs on here.

Thank you for the post. As a relatively younger CPA in the industry, it is good to hear things from the clients perspective and the journey people go through to find their trusted advisor.

For those that have mentioned about being billed by the hour, please know that the tide is shifting in the CPA industry to flat fee, slowly but surely!