All Forum Posts by: Jason Hendrickson

@Alan Grobmeier That's why I said "living/owning" property, not necessarily having investment property. Living in a high income tax state, as well as a high property tax state and having an unfavorable limit on what state-level taxes you can deduct from your fed taxes affects *every* person living/owning a home in CA (investor or other), and makes leaving CA for lower tax states more appealing. Doesn't matter if you can deduct every penny of your investment properties' taxes on Sch E if it's the changes to your personal taxes that are killing you.

Sounds like you're watching too much Fox News ;)

Lived in SD for 6 years. Go back every winter. SD has never been a great place to be a landlord, nor is CA a great place to do business, and people have been leaving in droves for years. That said, Trump's tax law changes have made living/owning property in CA even worse, so it make sense that the real estate market is taking a hit. Just because the market is changing from a seller's market to more of a buyer's market doesn't mean the sky is falling, but it's probably going to make owning investment properties in a lousy place (for returns - I absolutely love SD and CA) even more lousy.

@Kristen Kenney getting into the RE investment game, nice! Maybe some day it'll stop snowing in PC.

Seems like a lot of unnecessary micro-management for a 2-person start-up operation, especially considering many of the things you'll be discussing will span across multiple channels. Just my two-cents.

I don't follow your logic. You're going to sell your home and pay off debt only to start renting in an expensive market? Why not just stay in your home and pay off your debt?

If you can't afford the required down payment and closing costs how are you going to afford any sort of repair, maintenance, vacancy or other unanticipated financial shortfall? Keep saving until you have the cash for a down payment as well as a solid cushion to help deal with unexpected expenses (and there will be more than a few).

@Weston Couch I'm curious what legal structure you suggest. I'm using single-member LLCs and from what I've learned in my state (Utah) they're basically worthless. The only way to make them have any sort of legal protection is to have at least one other member who has a material ownership in the LLC. I offset this by having a massive umbrella policy.

Tell them "Sounds good. I'll wait to hear from your attorney." and stop communicating with them. 

Answer the phone? If you don't want middle of the night calls then turn off your phone or don't self-manage. You can prevent a lot of issues with a bit of planning/education. Show your tenants how to shut off the water, gas, etc. If there's an emergency at least they'll know what to do if they can't reach you right away.

Pay off credit cards, no doubt. It's not a matter of opinion. I guarantee you're paying more in interest on those cards than you'll ever make from a return on an investment property (especially with only $20k to put down).