All Forum Posts by: Cooper B.

John Mastropietro has done good work for me in Homewood. . 

thanks everyone for the advice. Clearly there are different ways to interpret the rules here. 

Not to muddy the waters even more, but technically I do not have an ownership interest in the property. My partner owns it 100%. If I didn't buy or sell the property then how can I be a dealer of it?

So when the property sells he can write me a check for my share of profits. Or, it can come out at closing as sales commission. What about the profit being paid as interest on the money that I loaned to him? (We didn't record the loan anywhere, and it would certainly be an exorbitant rate). Again, I realize there are better ways to do this, but this is the situation we are in now. Thanks everyone. 

Thanks @Bill Walston!  I knew I was confusing something, and now that you say that I realize that confusing "dealer" with "professional" is exactly what I was doing.

Thanks for the advice. I will of course speak to my CPA about it eventually. 

My CPA is actually the one who put that idea about self employment taxes into my head but I'm sure I have it confused somehow. I didn't realize there is an income cap so maybe that is where the confusion lies. I think he also said something to the effect of not being considered a dealer or real estate if I have a different primary occupation. 

First off, I apologize if this has been discussed in another thread but I couldn't find anything that addresses my particular situation.

I am seeking advice about how to report the profits from a flip with a partner.  I partnered with an individual on a flip with a 50/50 profit split.  He is the sole legal owner of the home.  I put up some of the purchase capital in the form of a loan to him (but NOT secured by the home).  We have split the cost of the rehab.  I am the listing agent on the sale side of the transaction.  

I realize there would have been a better way to structure all of this but we needed to act fast to secure the deal and we both trust one another so we just did it this way to get the deal done.

My question is how each of us will report profits for the deal on our tax return when it is said and done.  

A secondary question is if there might be a way to simplify the split by adjusting the listing agent commission on the back end.  I earn 100% commission and just pay a flat transaction fee to my broker.  So for example could my partner and I just modify the listing agreement I have with him before the closing so that I get paid my share of profits in the form of commission?  My initial thought is that this would have a negative tax implication on me in the form of it being 1099 income.  I do have a W-2 job which is my primary occupation so my understanding is that I can still avoid self-employment tax on profit from the occasional flip?  But will I be forced to pay it on 1099 income from being a R.E. agent? 

If we don't do it this way, how will I report my profits?  Essentially after the sale he would be writing me a check for the money I loaned for purchase plus my share of the profits.  How will I report the profits on my return?

I've always wondered about the cheap paint at the Habitat Restore.  @Dawn Anastasi & @Kathleen Leary, do you guys recall the brand of paint that you have purchased from there?  Also, have you gotten any feedback on it from your painters?  My local store sells 5 gallon buckets of "Diamond Collection" paint for about $40, but I've been hesitant to try it.

 Hi Bryan,

What software is your MLS using? I think our local association is making a switch and there are a couple of options on the table, I am hoping one of them has the feature you mentioned.

Great news @Marcus Kennedy !!

@Duncan Taylor

I'd be interested in hearing what resources you could recommend. I'm looking for anything that is more efficient than filling out the standard 12 page contract for a listed property. I imagine quickly answering a series of prompts (address, offer price, financing, closing date, earnest money, etc etc) then having that information automatically put into the contract including all initials, dates, signatures. The ability to set up defaults (such as cash offer, closing 10 days after contract date, no inspection contingency, etc) would be great as well.

Does anyone know of something like this?

@Jeremiah Meacham

Welcome! Tons of great info here on BP. Hopefully we'll meet in person at one of the local investment groups. Good luck!