All Forum Posts by: Joel Borja
Joel Borja has started 3 posts and replied 7 times.
Post: What to do! Laidoff today and in the middle of my buying my 2nd door

- Homeowner
- Moreno Valley, CA
- Posts 7
- Votes 8
Hi BP Community,
I want to know if anyone who has had a similar experience is in the middle of buying their next property and getting laid off from their job. What did you do to mitigate the situation?
I was laid off this morning. My next thought is to find another job that offers >= salary ASAP. I have $10K in EMD, so I am freaking out.
If, by any chance, someone has some leads to an opportunity. I am looking in the Riverside and San Diego areas. I was an IoT/Automation engineer. I am graduating the first week of May 2023 with my Masters in Applied Statistics. Feel free to shoot me a message so we can chat.
I appreciate you all,
Joel
Post: Renting out the property. Should I be in charge of utilities?

- Homeowner
- Moreno Valley, CA
- Posts 7
- Votes 8
Quote from @Ned J.:
State dependent, but if its at all possible to NOT have you in charge of utilities, then DON'T...... if you pay for everything, they will have the AC set at 65 degrees and run the water ALL the time.... with no "skin" in the game, they will go crazy
Interesting I did not know it was state dependent. I started looking into Utility Law in CA. Thank you
Post: Renting out the property. Should I be in charge of utilities?

- Homeowner
- Moreno Valley, CA
- Posts 7
- Votes 8
Hi,
I will be renting out my entire house soon. Something I was pondering is do the tenants setup utilities? Should I keep my name on the utilities and bill them? I would love to get your wisdom and input.
Thank you,
Joel
Post: Where to in Fresno, CA

- Homeowner
- Moreno Valley, CA
- Posts 7
- Votes 8
You can check out www.foreclosure.com. Also on here on BP on the top go to Find Deals > Find Foreclosures. Hope this helps.
Post: Should I get a CPA if I am on my first house hack?

- Homeowner
- Moreno Valley, CA
- Posts 7
- Votes 8
Quote from @Linda Weygant:
As a CPA, I'm going to disagree with the others - and not because of what I do.
I've been helping real estate investors with their taxes for decades. Often times, the first thing I do when I'm reviewing a self prepared tax return (or even a professional one), is determine if we need to amend the prior year's due to errors. Sometimes we can correct errors in a current year, but the forms to do so are fairly complicated.
If you (or your tax preparer) miscalculates basis or depreciation; or mistakenly deducts something that needed to be depreciated (or depreciates something that could have been deducted), getting everything corrected is expensive and time consuming.
Start as you mean to go on. A good CPA will not only make sure you're compliant and reduce your audit risk, but may also be able to offer strategies and insight to save you taxes in the current as well as future years.
Best of luck to you!
Thank you! I really appreciate your input. I agree I don't want the hassle or headache of miscalculations or errors. I will find a CPA that specializes in real estate. Mistakes will happen but if I can minimize it by going from self-preparing to a specialized professional, I will do it. Thank you again!
Post: Should I get a CPA if I am on my first house hack?

- Homeowner
- Moreno Valley, CA
- Posts 7
- Votes 8
Quote from @Eliott Elias:
Very useful to get a CPA early, you want to strategize your growth in it's infancy.
After looking at the replies and thinking it over I agree. I don't want to waste time by making mistakes on my taxes because I am not a tax professional. Nor so I want to miss out on strategies.
Post: Should I get a CPA if I am on my first house hack?

- Homeowner
- Moreno Valley, CA
- Posts 7
- Votes 8
Hi,
New to BP and this forum. I got my first property at the end of 2019. I started house hacking this year. I started listening to BP and reading the books at the end of last year. Which I am super grateful for because I have done a lot of remodeling of this house. I was reading the Tax Strategies book and I think I have many things I may write off. I usually go to H&R Block for my tax needs but after reading the Tax Strategies book I think that might not by my best course of action this year since they aren't specialized in real estate. I would love to hear the community's wisdom.