All Forum Posts by: David Sisson

Main thing-get a separate bank account and track your expenses and income just like any other business. I use quick books and my accountant likes that. 

Talk to a LOCAL accountant. Mine has been SUPER useful for these issues. Pretty sure they'd say something like "the LLC is good for your liability, but it's a pass through business in terms of the $ so either way is fine for tax reasons".

I do like the zip system, and the one with the exterior insulation is a great option. 

 Actually, the inspectors have NO liability in this regard, and rarely check all that much at inspection time. In other words "yes, it can pass inspection and STILL not be up to code". 

I'm an architect, and a GC. I'm only a GC so I can pull permits on my own properties, I don't hire myself out. I'm fairly handy, and do a lot of my own work. 

I still wouldn't build my own home, even though I technically could. I just don't have the experience in the field that a good GC does. 

You won't save money by being your own GC. So many ways it can go wrong, and go wrong in expensive ways. If you want to start down this path, start small, by doing some home renovation (say, renovate one room), and then maybe doing an easy flip. 

I'm building out a small office in my building, about 200 square feet - starting next week. I'll be the GC for it, and will hire some subs to help out (electrical and drywall mostly). That's about the type of project that I'll GC on my own. Maybe someday I'll have the bankroll and be ready to do a new build. 

Oh, and I did say "you won't save money by being the GC". I do save money by being the GC, but I have some experience and you don't. Work to get your experience, then build up from there. 

I'm surprised this didn't come up during closing. If you are actually in a flood zone, you'd require flood insurance and possibly a flood certificate. 

As a PSA to others, it's super simple to check if you are in a flood zone, 

https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search

Is this YOUR house that you are selling, or you are buying? If you are buying, you might want to walk unless the seller fixes the structural problems. Foundation problems are expensive. 

OK, so what you are saying is that you are saving money to buy a home. Then, once you've bought that home, you'll get a couple of housemates to help you pay the bills. 

Honestly, this is super simple, and the main fear is probably because it'll be your first house, right? 

The first one is always scary, but if you've run the numbers a bit, you'll see that it's about the same cost as renting, and maybe cheaper. 

Trust me, once you've got it, it's no more complex than renting. You pay the "rent" to the bank, and the utilities to the same people you always would. The additional complexity is:

1) Additional utilities to pay - usually just the water bill

2) Anything that breaks, you have to fix

3) Yeah, you need to deal with the yard too

Trust yourself, believe in the future, and plow through it. You will make mistakes, and that's just part of life, and part of learning.

A bigger red flag - in what you said - is that you said "if I leave my job and move to Florida, what will I do for income in the meantime while i work on purchasing a property."

Honestly, WHY do you need to NOT have a job when you are in Florida? Why do you need to move to Florida to buy a house? This is personal finance 101 - don't move somewhere without a source of income. Don't move unless there's a good reason for it. If I was you:

1) Save the down payment

2) Get a job in the new location

3) Buy the house at the same time you start the new job (I've moved across the country, bought a house, and started a job in just a few days, you can do it too). 

4) Travel to look at homes, but don't MOVE until you have the house and job lined up. 

5) Consider staying where you are instead. 

6) once you have the job and the house, hack the heck out of that house! 

@Sara Shinn shouldn't be an issue. It's your property. 

If the worst thing is that they stole your laundry detergent, then you can solve the problem in the future. When I used to airbnb, I'd tell the guests they were welcome to anything in the fridge, most would take a little bit, and even leave things, but one set of guests cleared us out. I was irked, but after all, I did welcome them to what was there. You'll just need to run the numbers and see if they are worth it or not. If they are not, don't welcome them back, it's just business.