All Forum Posts by: Robert D.

So someone brought up something interesting. Let's take the uber driver exmple. Guy signs up to drive for uber. The same day he starts his solo 401k. This same person also happens to have $50k from granny's inheritance that he wants to contribute to his brand new solo 401k but at the same time uber work is slow and lets just say he makes $5000 in the year. Is he able to dump that $50k or any large portions of into that fresh new solo 401k? Or can it ONLY be money coming from his uber driving income? And if your response is only from the uber income, is it something that Uncle Sam can, will and normally does cross reference with his uber driving tax returns?

Hey guys, 

Hope no-one minds but Im just going to brain vomit here. There is too much in my head and have alot of questions that I think im starting to hit analysis paralysis but on the other hand ive been researching alot and picking up on more and more as i go. I'm wanting to start a Roth IRA but recently learned of a self directed Roth and how i can multiply investments and from what i have gathered it seems there are specific places one can get a SD ROTH IRA in other words not every bank can set this up. I have seen the list of custodians here on BP. How expensive is it to maintain an SD ROTH thru a custodian?

Merrill Edge in their ROTH application process asks if you want a Self directed ROTH? Can anyone confirm that this is a true SD ROTH? I have searched over and over again and cant find anything on Merrill having a true SD Roth.

Even tho i would be opening a fresh new ROTH, my plan is to be able to purchase RE very soon hopefully when the market turns around but wont be able to contribute enough into it even tho i will max out the Roth every year to fund even a down payment. Im aware of the non-recourse and the ROTH IRA/LLC way. I do have the funds to purchase outright but wouldn't mind using some leverage. If going the LLC way am i able to use ANY bank account i wish to fund a property purchase thru the LLC? I think i read somewhere that i could use any bank account of my choosing not sure how true that is.

I live in the land of milk and honey, California. I have a regular "9-5" but am a part time employee. I own 2 rentals free and clear. I have an inactive General Contractor license but lost my crew and the business during the 2008 crash. I also read somewhere i could be considered an active investor(since i do everything for my rentals) and therefore might be considered a business owner in the hopes of having the opportunity at a SOLO 401K vs having passive income but also opening myself up to self employment tax? And if i was a business owner(with the rentals) would i be able to do a solo 401K? Am i better off staying in the passive income universe?

I apologize for the scatter brained post. Any advice from the gurus will be greatly appreciated?

So i recently listed a property up for rent after having spent quite a bit of coin since the last tenant, lets just say, didn't take care of the property. So i carefully weeded out prospective tenants by lack of returned calls or no shows when showing the property. i found this nice married couple with 2 babies and a mother in law that wished to live with them. The mother in law is the anchor bringing in the biggest portion of the $$. Without the MIL it is unlikely they would qualify for my rental. Well let me be honest here. They would not be able to qualify. Nothing lavish just run of the mill SFR. Like i said great people. I know appearances aren't everything or at least aren't supposed to be. So i have one thing that is kind of bugging me about this situation. What if the the mother in law decides she has had enough of living with the couple and the 2 babies? All three adults will be on the rental contract/agreement.

other details:

Husband just graduated and is going into teaching. 0 income at this moment.

Wife is a stay at home mom, sells clothing online. Minimal income.

MIL is stable and set financially with career in medical field. Income over-qualifies.

Any thoughts? suggestions? comments?

forgot to add, i think you got robbed !

Heres what i would have charged you so you have an idea:

-$450 top notch pay for helper with exp. for a helper that knew how to paint. its unlikely i would pay this much unless he specialized in painting. 150x3 days tops per helper. only 1 helper needed. no way no how this should have went 3 days. personally i would have done this job on my own with no help and that would have taken 3 days by myself. I would charge an extra $50-100 if you had popcorn cielings.
-$900 x 3 days for myself. if the help makes 150 per day you can bet your sweet *** im making double that per day
-$50 to cover any materials i didnt already have
-$200 40 per gallon. 4 gallons of Behr paint needed. and i would buy 1 extra gallon in case. which is already included in the price

TOTAL $1600 THIS WOULD NOT INCLUDE CLEANING SUCH AS TOILETS OR SINKS. CLEANING THAT TYPE OF STUFF IS EXTRA. I WOULD DO THIS JOB FOR $1500 SINCE IM WILLING TO MAKE LESS PER DAY AS WELL AS MY HELP RARELY MAKES $150 PER DAY. I DO CLEAN WALLS AND THINGS PERTAINING TO THE JOB ITSELF. I AM A LICENSED/INSURED CONTRACTOR LIVING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SO THESE ARE PRETTY ACCURATE NUMBERS. I HAVE ALL MY TEETH AND SPEAK PERFECT ENGLISH. ON SECOND THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE CHARGED THE $1600 SINCE IM A LITTLE WAYS AWAY FROM L.A.

Forgot to mention my insurance company is farmers.

Im in the west coast. Ill be checking out other insurance agencies this week. Seems ansolutely ridiculous.

Thanks for the comments. I see what your saying Tim and understand that. My issue is the fact the insurance company wants to double my premiums on my rentals. Cuts into the income. I live in Cali everything here is already thru the roof. Just to give you an idea i pay $700+ for a SFR roughly 900 sf this would now be $1400. That would put an ouch into my income.

On average, barring absolute negligence, what are plaintiffs be awarded now a days for say a broken leg or so. I ask cuz it seems like 2-3 mil may not be enough. Kinda worries me

I recently filed a claim onnone of my properties. Insurance almost denied the claim stating it was not covered as a rental. So once we squirmed around to make it work i had them switched to rental coverage. All thus cuz someone wanted to sell me a policy years ago. If not for this claim i culd have been screwed if there was a fire. Fyi