All Forum Posts by: Matt R.

Hi Ed,
the NOLO book is great - provided me with a ton of great information. And you can expense it as a business cost !

My understanding is that anything physically attached to the property becomes part of the property and would be depreciated over the 27.5 year time frame - ie your new roof.
Anything that is not hard attached can be expensed over a shorter period - replacing an old fridge. Again the NOLO book lists the various categories and expense timeframes you use.

Great thread with a ton of great responses.
Definitely agree with the comments on waiting a month or two for good tenants (they are out there, just have the patience to find them).

As far as sleeping at night, I'd rather have my money in real estate where I can control more of the situation instead of the stock/bond/money markets.

I think it's totally fair to bash engineers 8^)

Yes, I are one

Yes, getting a simple Yes or No answer is a major challenge

I'm sure they can CLAIM that, but this doesn't seem like a reasonable response.
The landlord has responded to their previous complaints, and is now trying to solve the problem for good. So, this requires more work from the plumber to get things sorted out. If I had the same situation on my own home I'd expect a certain amount of disruption and accomodation to the plumber's schedule - life ain't perfect and in that scenario the plumber's the one in the driving seat.
How would that be an 'unreasonable disturbance' when the task is to try and sort out their plumbing problem ?

Hi Glenn,
unfortunately you've been painted into a corner ( Ha ! 8^)
Sorry, couldn't resist.

It's business and you have a timetable to keep, so you have to decide - will this argument cost you more in the long run because everything else is stacked up waiting for the ceiling to be completed.
I'd guess you need to move forward and cheerfully pay the guy.

Next time you need someone to do a paint job, find someone else.
His short term gain means that he's losing your business in the future.

Hi John,
read all the related topics here on BiggerPockets.
I guarantee that all your questions (and a ton that you never even thought of) have been well debated and answered by folks with years or real world experience.

Warning : It will take you a LONG time, the amount of great info is HUGE.

Although not quite enough to cut them loose, I'd be VERY careful to make it clear that this is not acceptable behavior and they'd better follow the letter of the agreement at all times.
Poor tenants always end up costing you a ton of headaches and costs.

Keep an Eagle Eye on them and show them who's The Boss

Gulp, that's a lot of paperwork to handle a single property.
I just have an LLC + Landlord insurance with a liability coverage for asset protection.

You don't strictly need to set up a company or an LLC to rent out your property. But you should consider asset protection in case your tenant slips and falls. Many small landlords seem to do just fine with no LLC and a nice cheap personal umbrella policy that provides coverage for up to a couple of $$million for pretty small premiums.

Do you have a local mangement company or trusty person to take care of things ? That would impact the overall headache-factor by ensuring you get good tenants who won't trash the place.

Hi Shane,
welcome to BP. Take the time to search and browse, there is an incredible amount of useful, practical knowledge in place that will greatly help you get up to speed. Most of your questions have likely been answered several times and it's well worth reading discusion threads and clicking on related articles.

To address some of your questions :

There's no need to have all your family listed in the LLC, only those who are working members.

Note that "days worked for tax benefit" means that the individual needs to spend at least 750 hours per year AND it must be the prime work that the person does. For me, working a real job, I'd have to clock up 40 hours per week to be classed as a Real Estate (RE) professional.

Business license is not needed for an LLC - the specific business you're in may need a license (eg hairdressing). But there's no additional licensing requirements just because you're running an LLC.

LLC paperwork should be drafted by a lawyer to get it right - skimping on this could cost you later on. This should clearly state who the members are; what their share of the ownership is; and how the compensation will be defined.

Definitely set up a separate bank account (and a credit card if you can). This will clearly demonstrate that you are running a professional business and (most important) it's a separate entity from your private life and finances. It doesn't have to be any specific type of account, but it does need to be clearly your business account - and clearly separate from your own personal accounts.

Also be careful about the 'keeping good records' requirement for an LLC. Again, this demonstrates that your running a real business. It's not too hard, just make sure to have a notebook or electronic files that show you had regular meetings of your LLC. These 'board meetings' could be just you and your sister regularly meeting at Starbucks to discuss the business.

I'd be interested if anyone has numbers to show which is better.

Personally I'm a 'stitch in time' kinda guy but...I'm also careful with money.
So, I prefer to have them checked once a year (rather than the twice a year that the AC guys recommend). I figure it will catch anything major and prevent my tenants getting stuck with no AC at the most inconvenient time.
I also believe it will help keep them running longer if they're maintained - so it's pay a little now or pay a lot later if they are poorly maintained and fail.