All Forum Posts by: Maureen Campbell

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated!

Good morning BPers,

I am a relative newbie here, having bought my first duplex in New Jersey this past January. Our upstairs tenant put some holes in the wall when moving some furniture and we are trying to figure out how to handle repairs. The holes are large enough that we will likely hire a professional to fix them. Can I deduct the cost of repairs from his security deposit now or do I need to wait until he moves out? He has lived in the unit for 10 years and we don't anticipate him leaving anytime soon. I don't really want there to be holes in the walls the next few years until he decides to move out, but I am not crazy about the idea of paying for them out of pocket either.

He has several friends in the area that are contractors, but having worked with them, most provide pretty shoddy work - so I don't want him to hire someone himself to do the work.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Maureen

Jeff - I just purchased (last week) a duplex and am going down that route. The top half has a full time renter and the bottom will be VRBO. We are going to test it out this year and see how it goes. I think taxes and noise are my biggest concerns so far, but we will shall see. If it is not working out well, then we will choose to either go with 2 full time renters or 2 VRBO units full time at the beginning of next year.

Me and my partner just bought our first investment/mixed use property in New Jersey last week! Unsurprisingly, since it was our first time buying a home, let alone an investment property, not everything went our way, but we are really excited and have been working hard over the last week or two to get everything in order.

One of the biggest things on the to-do list is to find a great CPA, especially since this is a mixed use investment property. Any suggestions on CPA's that specialize in real estate investing that work in the Brigantine/Atlantic City or Philadelphia area?

I was wondering if anyone knows whether there are tax incentives available for making a vacation rental property wheelchair accessible? I don't have any specific tenant that has requested it, but I also know that we get a lot of senior citizens travelling to the area and I thought it might we a way to differentiate the property and give more people access to a vacation property who may be in wheelchairs or worried about stairs. 

@Joshua Dorkin Thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression that it was going to be mandatory for everyone to switch to 2fa. If it is only an additional option, that should be fine.

I know this sounds like the dark ages, but we can't have access to cell phones where I work and I often check BP during lunch breaks. Are there any other alternatives that folks can use if they can't use their cell phone to receive an SMS?

@Scott England Thanks! That was very helpful. How "seasoned" do the funds need to be? While we have been working on this for a while, we are just setting up the accounts and finances now that we have some target properties and determined that the numbers will work. 

Congratulations! 

I am planning to purchase an investment property with a partner, but I am trying to determine whether I should take out the loan in only my name. He has excellent credit, no debt and will be providing the down payment, however, he is currently getting virtually no income since he is in school. The downpayment and all of our reserve funds will be in a joint bank account. I also have excellent credit and an income that should qualify me for the loan amount we are seeking, but don't have a down payment. We have a written agreement detailing responsibilities (financial and otherwise) regarding the investment. This brings up a couple of questions in my mind:

1.) In a co-signer situation, is the debt-to-income ratio changed if there are two people on the loan or would they just be calculating my debt-to-income, since I am the only one that has either? Would the bank have the impression that we were both living off my salary (which is not the case)?

2.) Will the bank need to see his finances anyway, since he is a joint owner on the account that holds the funds for the down payment and reserves? Or will they only care that my name is on the account and I have access to the funds?

3.) It would be easier to do all the paperwork myself, since he is out of state and quite busy. Are there any advantages (or obligations) that I am missing to having him co-sign for the loan?

4.) Are there any issues that I should be aware of with adding him to the title if he is not on the loan for the mortgage?