All Forum Posts by: James Stinnett

@Reece Register - Totally makes sense! I appreciate your time and help, thank you!

@Reece Register Ok, got it, thanks! Why do you opt for utilities in your name rather than the tenants putting in there name? 

@Reece Register - Hi Reece, thank you so much for your help! Ok, so you are not making mortgage payments for any of the owners -- what about any insurance or tax payments? Or do you live that to the owners as well?  I assume there are some gardener/pool service that you might be taking care of, or maybe not?

@John Chace

@John Chace

@John Chace

@Sean Beksinski - There are several different calculators and each have their own calculations that are done to give the resulting numbers. I don't know exactly all the steps for each of the calculators, but I think you would get a lot of value by starting with some basic calculations and learning those first: Income, Cash Flow, Cash on Cash Return, Cap Rate...  

Have you checked out the Guides under the Education tab on BP? There is a guide called The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Real Estate Investing -- I would start there, I'm actually reading it now, and learning somethings I didn't know. Check it out! Hope that helps!

Hello BP peeps!

Does adding a Registered Domestic Partner to title of a Primary Res cause a reassessment for property tax purposes or is it exempt? 

I believe it is an exemption as far as reassessment goes but then my follow up question is -- when the original owner now sells his/her primary residence with the RDP on title is the capital gains exclusion still $250K or does it bump up to $500K, or is that only for married couples? Any other concerns with adding an RDP to title of primary res?

Thank you for any help you can provide!

@Anthony Yu Hi and Welcome Anthony!

I'm a newer BP member too and I live in Long Beach as well.  I've also been listening to the podcasts and reading guides and books. I'm interested in OOS investing also!

James Stinnett

@Sean Beksinski Hey Sean, no worries, I'm new on BP and though I have had a SFR out of state rental for 14 years and been a real estate broker in CA for the same time I've just recently made the decision to invest in more OOS real estate -- so I'm learning new stuff on here each day too! So, about the numbers, I would take a look at the Tools section of BP where they are calculators for several different types of real estate investments, they also have some video tutorials on how to fill-in the numbers needed to run the calculation. Hope that helps some, feel free to PM me if you have some specific questions, happy to share what I know!

Hi Tom,

So in your case you are not house hacking to secure the favorable financing that you could get by living in one of the  units and therefore obtaining a purchase money loan for your primary residence since your are buying all-cash. So I think the first question would be - Do you want to live in the unit? and next how would the rent you lose out on by not renting it out compare to what it would cost you to live somewhere else?  

Now I'm not a CPA or tax attorney so this is just my understanding, please consult with appropriate professionals but if you were to live in it as your primary residence than you should be exclude from long-term capital gains up to $500K  (for a couple) of profit when you go to sell it, not sure what your intention was on length of time that you two would live there or desire to sell it down the road. If you were going to live there for 2 years and rehab during that time then it may make sense to live in one of the units for this $500K exclusion. There are many smarter people on here so I'm interested to hear other insights and opinions.

James Stinnett

Hi @Sean Beksinski

You do not need to get licensed as a real estate agent to invest. And, if you were thinking of investing out of state it may not even be practical to get your license since you don't live in the state and are not familiar with the areas.  So, the benefits you would get from working with a experienced and motivated local agent that has insights to what areas fit your investment goals would be something you would still be missing even if you did get your RE license. 

Now, if you are investing in your own state and in areas that you know then getting your real estate license might be worth it, especially if you are trying to save as much money as possible since you could earn the real estate commission on homes listed on the MLS or with sellers that are paying commissions to agents. In addition you would get access to the MLS to search for deals. Now I know that many people say there are no good deals on the MLS and therefore MLS access is not a big deal, but that's when you focus on the list price, so work the numbers and figure what purchase price would make it a great deal and offer that. You might end up with one that makes sense for you. And like everything there are trade-offs and not working with an agent definitely has downsides. A great agent can protect you from mistakes and pitfalls, just like a good lender, appraiser, home inspector, and title company.

There are other considerations and points of views and I'm sure others will give some of their opinions and insights, Best of Luck!

@Marcia Maynard - Hi Marcia, Thank you for all the information and insights, it is greatly appreciated!

I definitely understand your reluctance of turnover the responsibility for PITI payments to a PM -- but I am still curious from some owners that use a PM or from PM themselves, how common it is.