All Forum Posts by: George Skidis

Since I own an income tax preparation business I will give you my opinion. We are still trying to figure this out for all of our clients but this is the most frequently asked question. Even the tax experts are still researching this. This is a personal opinion and should not be construed as professional advice. Consult your attorney or tax professional for further clarification sometime around the end of January when the IRS lets us know what the rules are for 2017.

The 2017 Illinois real estate taxes are not yet finalized. The amount owed will not be determined until all of the multipliers and tax districts are finalized. As such your real estate tax bill is accrued but not yet incurred. With extreme prejudice I doubt you can make this deduction.   In simpler terms you don't owe the taxes yet. You are in effect placing the funds for the tax payment in escrow with the local tax authority until the bill is due.

You could sign a 5 year lease and pay it all in up front. However, current IRS guidelines require you to amortize the expense over the life of the lease. There may be exceptions to the rule due to special taxing districts but this is the general outcome.

You amortize the cost of a rental dwelling over 27.5 years. It cannot be deducted in the year of purchase.

Since Illinois is broke they would love your interest free early real estate tax contribution. However, the influx of cash may be just the excuse Mad Mad Madigan needs to go on another spending rampage. Driving even more wage earners out of the state.

Unless your itemized Schedule A deductions for 2016 were well in excess of $24,000.00 it won't do any good anyway. The tax deductions for your personal residence are only deductible on schedule A

If you did not itemize on Schedule A you have no business considering this in course of action in the first place.

Mark Wojick with Shelter Insurance specializes in rental properties in the Saint Louis Area. His office is in Belleville on South Belt West.

Property Taxes are reassessed on a regular basis. If you prepay you are paying at the last known assessed value. You are also eliminating some of next years deduction unless you plan to prepay every year from now on.  Depending on your finances this may not be a sustainable option. You also let the government use your money interest free.

Prepaying appears to be a one year fix.

If you are going to prepay I would suggest only paying the excess amount for 2018. Not the entire amount. This leaves you the remainder to deduct in 2018.

The other question is do you itemize? If you itemized in 2016 your standard deduction was $12,600.00 that year. The standard deduction is supposedly doubling to $24,000.00 for 2017. If your total itemization's were less than $24,000.00 last year and will be less than $24,000.00 this year then the deduction limit limit will have no impact on you for the time being.

Rule #1: Buy when the prices are low.

Rule #2: Sell when the prices are High.

Before you sell your home you need to ask yourself, "Where are we going to live"? Could you live in an apartment building? Are you going to rent from another landlord? Buy a duplex and live in one side. Buy a smaller home to free up the equity? 

Once you answer these questions your investment strategy is laid out for you.

Depending on the actual changes in the tax law. If you have lived in your current home 2 of the last five years you can sell and face no income tax penalty as long as Capital gains does not exceed $500,000.00 on the sale. There is a lifetime limit on this but you could move into a flip. Fix it up and sell after two years.

Good luck and good investing!

You are free to manage properties owned in your name. You can be hired as an employee to manage properties owned by your employer. The sticky part is how you advertise.

An investor I know from the Chicago Area is currently in trouble with the state of Illinois and the board of realtors. She advertised herself as a property manager and had a website suggesting she was a property manager. She only managed her own properties. However, those properties are not owned in her name. Not sure if they are in a Corporation, LLC or Land Trust The realtors are claiming she was acting as a property manager without a license and are trying to make an example of her. Sorry I cannot go into more detail about this.

So, what do you put on your business cards? Property Manager seems to be incorrect unless you have that license.

Could you be the "Resident Retention Specialist", "Tenant Screening Coordinator", "Maintenance Supervisor". "Office Coordinator", or "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer". 

Old San Juan and New San Juan are great areas to vacation in.  The rest of the island I have no clue. My wife and I love to travel there because of the history and variety of what can be done. U.S. Dollars but the school system is Spanish and English.

If I were to invest in the San Juan area I would probably consider Air B&B.

As soon as Mike Madigan: retires, get's removed from office or deported to the eternal nether regions of fire - Illinois will make a come back. We need good candidates for office who are not part of the political machine of either party. 

If Libertarian candidates start sweeping elections it can happen "Before" Mike Madigan assumes room temperature.

I am not saying Mike Madigan is the only thing wrong in Illinois, but he sure is the poster boy. How can you serve as an elected politician who raises real estate taxes, AND own part of a law firm that makes its bread and butter appealing real estate taxes?

Too bad Mad Dog Mattis is not a resident of Madigan's district. Things would be different.

You should check out - South Jersey REIA - they meet at The Holiday Inn 2175 Marlton Pike RD West Cherry Hill NJ 08002

Meeting Time:
The 3rd Tuesday of every month.
Contact Information: Tom Dagney

There are other items available. Don't forget community Bulletin Boards, Craigs list, Facebook and other social media. Focus on the free before spending your money. Rural King has a Bulletin Board they clean it every Sunday. If you are not getting discounted printing for your flyers and signs at Office Depot or Office Max let me know.