All Forum Posts by: Jeff Rabinowitz

@Account Closed, I am not an expert on this topic and I see the thread has attracted a couple experts. You can only establish a Solo 401k if you have income from self employment and no employees beside your spouse. Other than that, I don't know of any catches.

Cost and value are very different things. If I were to set up my Solo 401k on my own it would have taken several, maybe 10 hours, of research and I would have probably had a conversation with an attorney. (I have a pre-paid legal plan so that would not have cost me much but it would have taken some more time.) This would have delayed my establishment of the account. It might have prevented me from establishing the account at all depending on the advice I received and my perception of the complexity. I made my first investment through the Solo 401k within a week of opening it. That transaction more than paid for the cost of the assistance. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

@John R., Sense Financial doesn't list interest on deposits because they don't hold the funds. You can put the funds anywhere you choose to--anywhere that can open a trust account. Mine are at my local bank. I was very pleased with the assistance I received at Sense Financial. I set up the Solo 401k account a couple months ago and I am expecting my second deal to repatriate funds tomorrow. It is a pleasure not having to deal with custodians in this account.

Dear @Dominique Fryar , welcome to BP. If you type the @ sign before you type the person's name you will see a pop up that shows people you can select. You can only select people who have commented on the thread you are on or who are connected to you as colleagues.

I have never seen a lease like that. Even if there is a clause like that, if the tenant refuses to leave they must be evicted and that will take time. If the tenant decides to fight the eviction a judge will rule on the clause. I do not know anything about Connecticut law but whether it is legal or not, the judge may decide that the clause is one sided and may choose not to enforce it.

The legal limit for security deposits in Michigan is 1 1/2 times the monthly rent. The state publishes a landlord/tenant rights book. It is probably available online though I have a hard copy. You should get one and read it.

@John Jeff, welcome to BP. You haven't filled out your profile yet so I can't tell what attracted you to this site but if you own rental properties or plan to own rental properties in the near future you know (or will learn) that insurance is a large expense. When you acquire 1/2 dozen, or more, properties you can begin to get some discounts when you purchase all of your insurance through one agent and increase deductibles but it is very much worth the effort to keep the premiums low. Making a small claim may, indeed, raise your premium. Worse, it may raise the premium for all your properties. $100 annually for 10 properties is $1,000. Worse still, if you experience another loss in the near future and make another claim your insurance company may drop your coverage. There are not always a lot of choices when you seek companies to insure a rental portfolio. I would not make this claim.

I can't say whether this happens in every county or city but this happens in every city I have owned property and I suspect it happens everywhere. The taxing authorities do it because they can. Since non residents cannot vote it is not very difficult to pass these laws. Everyone seems happy to tax the other guy. It is, essentially, taxation without representation but that is life in the land of the free.

You are offering your dad a chance to pick his neighbors and, I hope, earn a property management fee. If he doesn't want it just sell the house. If he agrees to do this because you talked him into it he is not going to be a very good property manager and he will blame you when something goes wrong.

We spent about ~$100,000 for a broken down 473 sq ft house that was formerly a chicken coop near downtown Royal Oak, Michigan. We put it out of its misery and into a landfill, spent ~$270K to build a 2,500+ sq ft home and sold it for ~$480K. There is opportunity everywhere if you learn to see it.