All Forum Posts by: Gerald Demers

Previous replies have merit.  Live and fix is great but you are not living in a house that is complete.  Not for everyone.  Many men are okay with it but the wife can get fed up with a never ending project (that was our place growing up; I didn't know till later how much my mother hated it).  

The upside is that you can get a conventional loan with a ridiculously low interest rate.  Keep all your receipts so you have an accurate cost basis.  this is important if you decide later to move and convert it to a rental.  with such a low interest rate, it is much easier to get it to cash flow.  You can also sell it with owner financing, creating a new loan that wraps around your existing financing.  

If your intent is to live in it and then rent it out, don't overbuild it.  If you want to sell it, fix it up and after 2 years, sell it and the proceeds are tax free.  

If this is your first house, investigate any first time home buyer programs.  They can help you get started.  Just know that this FREE money will usually convert to a mortgage once it's no longer your principal residence.  you have to run the numbers.  The nice thing about it you live there, deduct interest and taxes as a principal residence, and when the market is right, sell it or keep renting it.  

Hope this helps, 

Gerald Demers

I don't know the area but is the lot in the path of progress?  Will it be worth more in the future?  If yes, for about 15K you can pull the old trailer off and replace it with a used one and rent it out (you stated it had sentimental value so you would still own it).  

You said it's dilapidated...how dilapidated?  Can you put someone in it that wants to fix it up and live in it.  You can give him the trailer and he rents the lot from you.  This way you still own the land but have no tenant headaches.  If it doesn't work out, you can tell him to move and take the trailer with him (which he won't).  You are back to where you started but had some rental income from when he was paying.  The upside is that he fixes it up and lives there for a long time.  Since you own the lot, you can control what he/she does with the lot such as demanding it is maintained.  Make sure your agreement/contract with him spells out how he is to care for the lot.  

Gerald Demers