All Forum Posts by: Chris Perez

 I inherited tenants with the property. There was a couple months of vacancy, but they are rented again. 

Hi All!

Earlier this year I purchased a 4-unit property, and I'm currently living in one of the units. Over the past several months, I've invested about $30k into the units. I'm having trouble determining what exactly constitutes as a "repair" and as an "improvement" for tax deduction purposes. Some of the "repairs" just happened to be "improvements," so how would that be deducted? (i.e. the bathroom had severe water damage that posed structural threats, so I gutted it and installed cement board and new tile.) This seems to be a very blurry line. If someone can help explain or point me to a resource that best explains the distinct difference it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Thank you for the response, Evan. Much appreciated.

6 months ago I purchased my first investment property. I used an fha loan and purchased a 4-plex for $575k. I put $25k+ in renovations into the most neglected of the 4 units and moved into that unit. I've already forced appreciation with this reno, but I also plan to increase rents as this is a highly desirable neighborhood. Increasing rents will increase my NOI, but will bringing the rents closer to market rate increase the value of the property? Also, the property was fully rented when I purchased it. Since I moved into a unit and am not paying rent, technically the NOI has decreased. Will this have a negative effect on the property value? Or am I overvaluing NOI?

My goal is to as quickly as possible achieve an 80% or greater LTV ratio so I can take out a HELOC and purchase another property.

Is my strategy to force appreciation a good strategy? Or am I better off saving capital until I have enough cash to purchase my next property?