All Forum Posts by: Jean Bolger

Thanks! That's very helpful. The acquired property would be in Ohio; I had to look it up, but it seems they are not a community property state but what they call a marital property state. I guess I'd better talk to some Ohioans of the legal persuasion before I get myself in trouble ...

So, I have a property that is held jointly by my husband and me (title is in both our names). We'll be selling this as part of a 1031 exchange, and I would like to take title to the replacement properties in a LLC (with both of us as partners in the LLC) . I have read two things that are causing confusion for me. (First) that there is no problem doing this if you are an individual owner moving to a solo LLC because the IRS sees these as one and the same, and, (Second) that you can't sell as an individual and buy as a corporation. I may be seeing problems that aren't there, but what does this mean for us as joint owners? Can we just move into a shared LLC? Or would we have to put the relinquished property into a LLC before we do the exchange? (All of our finances are joint, file taxes jointly, etc- if that matters..) Thanks for any clarification!

There are some sites that have "score simulator" programs that you can mess around with that will help you understand what is affecting your score and see what effect certain actions will have on your score. I used one on the site called "CreditKarma" ( I think there's one at myfico dot com too) and found that actually adding one more card with a 10k limit would boost me over that magic 700. So I applied for a card at my credit union. I was also surprised to see that my zero balances were actually a detriment. (the credit companies don't actually want you to be financially well off- they just want you to be a good little debt-slave, haha!) You can learn a lot about how to work it, but it still takes a little time- probably not more than a few months though in your situation.

Go for it, Keela. Just make sure you always know where the main water shut-off is, haha!
I second the recommendation on Home Depot's "Home Improvement 1-2-3". I bought it for myself as a present when I got my first house and have referred to it again and again.
It's empowering for anyone- male or female- to have basic handyman skills.
When I get intimidated by a project, I remember a favorite "inspirational" saying of a friend of mine that goes "Remember, people do this stuff all the time; and you're a person, right?"

Seth's points (above) are all good. I wouldn't worry about making the design of the site fancier- the fashion is web design right now is actually leaning to clean, simple design, and you're on track with that, so don't gussy it up too much!
However, I think you really do need to give out more info about YOU before you can expect people to cough up all that info about THEM. I mean, you're asking for their name, phone, email, address- all up front, and not even supplying a physical business address... see what I mean? You know you're legit, but put yourself in their shoes. A real address (even if it's PO Box), some testimonials... maybe a photo of you looking competent and reassuring?
I'd also look again at your "about Us" page -- I think you should retitle this "how it works" or something like that. Also notice that 4-step process on the "about us" page jumps straight from 1)filling out the form on the site to 2)them signing a purchase agreement- whoa nelly! Seems a little precipitous. I'd put in a bit more detail about the process. You cover it better in the FAQ section but you might include the info here as well. You do need an "about us" page, but that's where you can put all the helpful info about you and why they'd want to work with you.

I don't know your particular situation of course, but once you figure in the mortgage and expense deductions and the depreciation on the property you may be pleasantly surprised at how your taxes look. The laws are extremely favorable to real estate investors. You might find, as Chris mentioned, that you're making money while showing a loss- legally. This can create a tax shelter for your other income. It blew my mind at first. You could go over all of it with a tax attorney- I'm sure they could tell you exactly what your options are. But the income tax obligations on your first property shouldn't be enough to make or break the success of your plan. Some people will spend $10 to avoid $5 in tax; me, I'm one of the ones who thinks taxes are just the price of a (semi)-civilized society ;)

I'm with you, Jordan. Wholesaling sounds awful to me! I don't know what your financial situation is, but if you don't have a lot of extra cash flow in your budget already I'd go with buying a small multifamily that you can live in. You'll get a much better deal on your loan, and it will keep your own housing expenses down as well. You don't want to be on the line to pay upkeep on more properties than you can afford. (It will also let you know if you're cut out to be landlord!) You can move on in a few years and enjoy the rent from that unit as you buy another home- or your next multi. This worked well for me. when I look at the advantages I'm enjoying now, I'm glad I put up with the hassle of duplex living for a few years.

There are several articles on 1031 exchanges here on BP: http://www.biggerpockets.com/articles/category/1031-exchange
a google search will also give you plenty of information

I'm aware of bifurcation as a legal term and as a mathematical term, but I don't understand why it would be relevant to a discussion of 1031 exchanges. Maybe you could rephrase the question?

Steve Babiak & Chris Clothier
Just to reassure you that no one was endangered: I did have a master electrician look in to it who assured us that all the electrical in the house- while it would not meet today's construction codes- was safe, and legal in a house of that age. He thought this outlet switcheroo was the strangest job he'd ever been hired for.