All Forum Posts by: Aaron Zimmerman

@Mark H. They feel low but I also don't know the area. If the property is assessed at $700k let's say and you're buying for about $1.3m, you can bet property taxes are going to increase pretty significantly. I would check the county website 

I would echo a lot of what@Julius Vincent said. I would add that it'd be easier to obtain real estate professional status with being a realtor or another trade that isn't just managing rental properties. 

As it stands now, it'd be a bit difficult for your wife to obtain 750 hours in managing two properties. If you add in being a realtor to the mix and make it a business, put in the requisite time, then all you'd need to do is materially participate in your rentals (which is a much lower bar than working 750 hours). 

I would recommend house hacking. Florida is an expensive market so you're going to have a hard time as an investor putting down 25%. There's smaller down payments and hopefully the numbers can make some sense that way and it's a more accessible entry point!

The goal with the house hack is to reduce your living expenses. When you move out, you want it to Cash flow. Right now, it seems Like it might reduce your living expenses but it  will not cash flow after moving out. I would personally not be looking to buy this property. 

a couple of questions:

1. Have you gotten your insurance quoted?

2. What's the assessed value of the property? Are there any exemptions that artificially lower the taxes paid you may be basing your assumptions off of. 

@Jeremy Ulcigrai - congrats on your early success. You are on the right path with the right attitude. 

I think you're perfectly positioned to buy a house hack by February 2026 if not earlier. The goal with the house hack is to find a place where your housing expenses are relatively minimal and where you can cash flow after leaving. With this strategy, you have low down payment options available to you - 3-10%. You're going to learn the skill of landlording as well. 

Depending on the area, I can suggest a couple of agents to work with. I'd encourage you to go to local meetups and listen to the straight up Chicago investor podcast. 

Your biggest early stress is going to come from not knowing who to call (although you are in the trades so you may be able to fix more things than most) 

@Julius V. absolutely agreed 

This seems like getting over your head a bit. You can certainly get other investors to come and join on the deal that compliment your experience. I would ask others if it's a good deal with hard numbers. 

A big risk is the NOI dropping because of higher taxes and insurance. Beware.

Great synopsis of RE professional status. I think one key is knowing which hours count and which hours don't. For instance, investor and education hours don't count. 

You want to reduce your return on hassle with the properties you buy. Buy the worst property in the best area you can and improve it if you can

I agree 100% with@Julius V. and his analysis except for the cost segregation study part. If you bought your place, already did a cost segregation, and then years later added the trex deck, then determine classification based off above (15 or 27.5 years)