All Forum Posts by: Guy Yoes

I am fully retired and have a small pension. I own 7 doors all of which are about 30-40 miles from my house. I am managing the properties myself and spend a good amount of time overseeing them (maintenance, cleaning, showing them and inspections). I have logged my milage and hours working but am still short of the 750 hours to claim RE professional. I have not included my drive time as I claim mileage.

Can I claim both mileage and time driving to reach the magic number to be a real estate professional? Can I include the hours outside of maintenance like doing the books,driving to make deposits at the back, picking up supplies at Lowes, etc?

Are there other things I can claim that I may not be aware of to count as business?

@Michael Plaks

Thank you all for your comments! My cpa is willing to do the set for a reasonable fee. However. The comments provided have me looking at other options. As I said in the intro it’s not just the cost but time involved and my learning curve. You have given me much to consider. Thanks

@Michael Plaks

Thank you very much for your response. 

My list of properties has more than doubled this year. I was tracking expenses with excel spreadsheets. I am hiring a CPA to do taxes this year. He recommends getting quickbooks. Is it worth the monthly fee, time setting it up and learning a new system? Is there something better I should consider?

@Tj M.

American family insurance

@Dave Foster

Thanks for the information! So, a simple process like a 1031X can be used with my primary residence as well as a rental. 

Do the taxes and depreciation carry over to the new property? Will future 1031x's  just pile depreciation and cap gains higher until I sell the property? 

I have multiple duplexes on the same street. An older single tenant lets me use one of the bays in the two garage for storage. I give her a $25 dollar rent break per month.

I go to yard sales and buy lots of items I use on my properties ( outlets,paint, tools, lumber, pipe etc.) 

I also buy and change out the filters. Lets me see what's happening inside.

Since all the properties are on the same block, I have my properties on one insurance policy. So if I have to replace roofs, I have one lower deductible than 4-5 separate.

Tenants direct deposit and I have an account for each address. I can log into bank and see who paid and when. I leave the deposit in the account (deemed escrow) and move the balance into the parent company account. They get a receipt from the bank with their deposit.

The property owners host a bi-yearly trash day. We use out trucks and trailer and tenants leave there crap on the curb. We pick it up and haul it off. We do this spring and fall because most people move at those times. When needed we help each other clean out units also.

We also set up a neighbor watch and do cookouts so they get to know each other. This goes well a about 90% of the time. 

Great Forum looking forward to more ideas!

@Dave Foster

Dave-

what if I lived in my house for 5 years and then rented it for 3-5 more years. IF I 1031X it, would I still have to pay some taxes or would it be considered a long term rental?  Also could I deduct the usual rental costs while it was rented?

Thanks again Mr. 1031X Guy!

@Theresa Harris I talked to them today and they implied they are looking to buy a house. I figure they will be gone in 3-6 months. It's not worth the hassle and bad press to push the issue at this time. 

Thanks for your input!

I can't compete with most of those. Mine was a heater coil with so much dirt and pet hair it looked like a shag carpet was draped over it.