All Forum Posts by: Justin Jaeger

Hi there,

So I bought a new primary residence in August 2017. We spent 4 months and about $25,000 making the basement a rental unit. We have 2 tenants who made a deposit in December, but they moved in and started paying rent in January. 

My question(s): Should I get an accountant to file our taxes this season? Can we deduct the expenses/depreciate anything yet, since it wasn't in service until January 1?

All the work was done and money spent in 2017, but service on the unit didn't start until 2018. Does that complicate things at all? Can I enjoy tax benefits this season? I have not contacted any potential accountants yet, as I'm sure they would tell me I should hire them now, whether or not I "need to" at this point

Thanks for any guidance in this area!

Thanks all for your input. Unfortunately, not what I was hoping to hear, lol. But that's good to get some straight talk so I don't have misguided hopes.

Also, as of January 1, we officially have rental income of $650/month. 

Hey all,

I just bought a new house in August, 2017. We moved in and remodeled the basement into a 2 bedroom unit. We added the 2 rooms, a bathroom and a kitchenette with brand new everything down there. We also did quite a bit of work refreshing the upstairs.

The deal was done privately, so no banks have been involved yet. However, our plan was that after the remodel, we would refinance with a bank, pull out cash, and get the family members money out of the deal. We are just finishing this project the first week of January, 2018, when I lost my job just before Christmas. My plan was to launch into self employment later this year(after the refinance, of course), but I guess now is the time, I won't be getting another job. Though I am making income already, it only goes back 6 months and is not currently on any tax returns. 

My wife has been self employed for 3 years, but has consistently made about $14k per year. 

If we could pull out the equity we now have(we got a great deal to begin with), we would be able to pay off the money we borrowed for the remodel, as well as 2 of our other debts, increasing our cash flow by over $300/month. Are there any options for a cash out refinance as a newly self employed individual? Are their options to bring on a cosigner not living in the property to secure a new loan? Do I simply need to wait it out(definitely don't want to do that).

ps - I have not called any lenders yet, just thought I'd ask here first to get some direction with what to pursue and how. 

Thanks for any tips!

Thanks for the input guys, definitely plenty to consider. I'm sure ill have more questions as I'm hoping to get into the game with my first property this year. 

Across the street from me, a single family home sits on a corner lot(on a semi main road, across the street from a middle school) and has virtually no backyard(you can fit a BBQ and about 4 chairs). Is that automatically a bad idea? Do renters always want their own backyard? (I'm hoping to buy my first unit this year)

The owner recently passed away after moving in 2 years ago. It is 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and in seemingly good condition. I haven't run the numbers, it's not on the market. The owners son said they will probably try to sell it in a few months, so I was considering asking about a seller-financing deal.

Any thoughts on the idea? If the numbers and deal works out, will it attract tenants if it's in a good neighborhood?

Thanks,

Justin