All Forum Posts by: Pat L.

Do whatever you can to avoid it......
Its a non deductable self perpetual scam.

I installed one in a closet 12 yrs ago.
To my surprise its
Still running

My MAC's do it automatically.

It is great site..
But I notice that the REI groups I attend are swelling exponentially in attendance as everyone is looking for RE as a income stream to compensate for years of poor choices in conventional investments & a lot of bad lifestyle choices per se.
Referring these people to BP is fun to do as it's well worth a novice to get in depth discussions on all aspects of the enterprise.
One couple at our table, after a month, came back with all manner of knowledge after admitting to being avid readers of BP.

I am doing a rehab on a SFH I own up here.
The kitchen counter & island has granite ($43/sq ft) installed.
I get $1400/mo, rent.
The original formica was badly cut & had burns from previous years.

I inherited Corian in another SFH I bought but it hadn't worn well. The edges near the stove were buckled from heat & it also had a lot of cuts from years of using it as a cutting board.

Then I bought a lower grade of 3/4 inch Chinese granite for yet another rehab. However, the surface finish scratched badly after a year & began to crack at the stress points around the sink.

If you go with granite don't get any fancy edges as it will chip along the sharper edge profiles.

good luck

On our SFH's our agent has a waiting list bec of the school district(s).

I enjoy the hands on ESP if it's a rehab.
I have a great team that gets things done but the wife handles all the accounting.
I have done a lot of deals without even seeing the property other than 'google earth'.
While in Australia last year I did 3 deals online making enough to pay for the entire trip.
My wife is definitely A type & I drive her crazy putting deals together.
The rehab I am doing now was rented before I decided to gut the place. Because it's '78 vintage ranch & after these tenants move on it I may sell it as it has paid for itself. Plush was bored & needed a job for my maintenance guy to work on.
Meanwhile the tenants have paid for their own lighting, bathroom, toilet, etc fixtures. They have hired someone to paint the entire place at their expense & today she showed up with sharp looking glass tile she bought for the back splash in the new kitchen.
She says she enjoys working with me because I am so easy going....she is definitely a type A.

We had an investor friend who was advised to do the same, just roll them into the new mtg, but he missed a couple by the time it was ready to close.
When the new lender discovered the agreed upon 'missed payments' they pulled out at the last minute, citing the arrears.
I would definitely get agreement on the strategy from the new lender to ensure it is not an issue.

Yes
I have done it a number of times usually when the investor lacks the financing etc to close or a bad inspection report scares them away.
We have picked up some nice deals at much lower prices than they originally sold for because the seller/heirs just want out, esp in NY when the next tax bill is coming due!!!!

A home in foreclosure for several years entertained multiple offers that failed conv financing because of the deteriorating condition of the home. We stole it with cash, no conditions & close asap. The rehab cost was insignificant & we already had a young buyer committed with cash in escrow.

I also have my agent look for contingency sales, that just sit there. I have found you can buy it for less if you have cash & if the seller is motivated.

We had one guy recount his story at our REI mtg
He had a triplex with about 10 living in one unit & 8 in another & they were trying to renovate the middle floor. They inherited the tenants (something I would not do).
They called the police a number of times but they were not able to do anything & damages just escalated.
He was then cited for a total of 41 code etc violations.
Finally he just walked away & gave the property back to the city.
A year later it is still vacant & boarded up.

They didn't bother too much with the receipts for repairs/expenses per se but wanted to interrogate the legal fees paid for property acquisition esp the fact I write off all the expenses I pay even though I financed the property for the investor.
Legal fees: even though my attorney had detailed accounting on his letterhead for all services she still wanted cancelled checks to prove I paid!!!
The deductions for legal fees etc seemed to fly after some debate & her getting advice from a higher up.

Then I had to show the financing audit (paper) trails through the LLC's for the purchase & financing. Even though I always pay cash I finance the LLC's with another entity to strip any equity.
She even wanted the books on the LLC's & resolutions approving said acquisitions & financing. I also had to show the LLC's were in good standing, right back to the newspaper publishing of their creation(s).
I got the feeling that because the audit was only giving her a minimal amount she was pushing it into different directions.
As I said it lasted 3 days but she gave me a couple of weeks between each of those 3 day sessions to prepare more documentation. But I became very aware of the implications of further documentation & how it my open up another 'can of worms'.
I initially decided to sit through it on my own to experience the audit but since then have a good CPA do the filing.

I ended up owing about $5,000 in SE taxes for the two years in question.