All Forum Posts by: Johann Jells

Tempting to be able to buy units for petty cash 2 hrs away. Food for thought....

Steve, can you comment on the odds of getting audited if you never take a passive loss and don't have any w-2 income? My interest is having my properties considered a business rather than asset on college financial aid applications.

Interesting thread, I haven't been routinely asking for stubs, though I do call the employer. Last rental though, one of the tenants worked for Walmart, and it was impossible to get through to them, they subcontracted out employee inquiries and that sub required a paid subscription! I accepted the stub at face value.

Fact is, on that rental, I broke the rules badly. The couple had sub 500 FICO! And I had only met the wife, the husband hadn't moved to the area yet. But I met their nice 30 yr old son who already lived in the neighborhood, and the narrative of their financial problems due to health emergency was compelling, as was her starting a well documented new office job in Manhattan that would be enough income even without her husband's. This would be their 1st rental after decades of ownership, and renting out their current home for this move. I went with my gut that that these would be good tenants despite their bad credit. This is the kind of gamble you take in a gentrifying area when you want to pull up the neighborhood.

I know the "Toto-istas" will mock me, but I'm a believer in the dirt cheap American Standard Cadet 3. I've put them in my own home as well as my rentals. $139 from HD and they flush fantastically, much better than the pressure tank model I replaced with one in my downstairs bath. I've NEVER had to double flush. Main thing is they have a 3" port from the tank, as opposed to the traditional 2", the water flies out of there.

Online reviews sometimes say their quality control is bad, but I've installed a dozen with no issues. YMMV.

If you're handy and really want to make a nice change, cover it with granite tiles. Lay Schluter Ditra tile underlayment over the roughed up laminate with unmodified thinset and lay close set granite over that. Tiles are $5/ft at HD.

I haven't done it over laminate, but I've done plenty over ply.

I've used MrLandlord.com for many years. Cheap credit, eviction and conviction reports, only catch is they now require a site inspection of your office to see you have a locked file cabinet and a shredder. No big deal.

I've bought used to great effect, particularly laundry, but will never do a used fridge again for 2 reasons. Most of my apartments are on upper floors and I've sworn I'll never personally move a fridge again, nor let non-professionals do it and destroy my stairwell. Most of the stores will deliver and take away for free.The other reason is compressor repairs are so costly you might as well scrap it. I paid $400 once for a side by side that died again a month after the repair warranty ran out.

Ranges are the easiest to fix, it's almost always the igniters. Plus I have tenants that have clearly not used their range in years!

Yeah, sounds reasonable, but if wanted to punch a clock I wouldn't be working for myself!! Truly, my time is so broken up with the 2 businesses and picking up kids at school etc, in reality I'm simply not anal enough to keep track. I'm sure that sounds pathetic to some of you hyper-organized types, but I know myself.

Is Pro status still an audit magnet if you don't take passive losses at all? I see cashflow from my portfolio.

I've never really tracked my hours, but I have 12 rentals in 3 100 year old buildings, and I manage, maintain and renovate them myself. I have another schedule C solo consulting business that is greatly variable in it's income. Does it sound plausible that I am a RE Pro?

I'm in the 1st camp, it's one of the few trades I ALWAYS hire out. It's just too damn easy to screw up a floor with the drum, and the edging IS nasty. Plus they have the screening machine for the recoating.

I like jobs like tile where if I'm slow and careful I can eventually get it right. Certain crafts like sanding floors and welding, if you don't get it right at first it's a huge PITA!