All Forum Posts by: Samantha Magina

Those numbers are just a bit off for me, you technically hit the 1% rule (monthly rent is 1% of purchase price) but if you assume about 3% of purchase price for maintenance each year I just don't see a profit with those numbers. I get to around $1750 in expenses each month. The real estate taxes also seem really high compared to the purchase price, is that normal in the area?

I've found a property inAlbany, NY I'm interested in purchasing and it's currently owned by a wholesaler. I'm looking to do a few rehab and flip deals in the Albany, NY area over the next year. Cold calling real estate agents was pretty frustrating as many flat out said they don't do business with investors, so I'm looking for an agent that is okay with multiple offers on a bunch of properties, with the understanding I'll do as much due diligence on my end before putting in offers. The agent would then be the selling agent as well after the rehab. Let me know if anyone has any recommendations or if you are an agent that's interested!

Jonathan Safa , I'll review my old emails and gather up my numbers and make a post. I agree I learn through others failures as well.

Why can't you rent it AND pull out equity for your next investment?

Hi everyone, I discovered Bigger Pockets about 6 months ago, and I've been lurking and learning ever since. I had a failed attempt at what I now know to be house hacking back at the beginning of 2016 with a duplex in Mansfield, MA that taught me quite a bit of the difference between buying a home to live in and o home to invest in and I was hooked, even though that particular property didn't pan out. I live south of Boston but my particular area is a little too hot for me right now so I've been looking at other areas. I found an interesting area in Albany that appears to have decent sales prices and activity recently. I'm eager to get in contact with an Albany real estate agent and a real estate lawyer. Anyone have any recommendations?

Have you calculated your profit after the tax impact of cashing out your IRA?

I think you will increase your pool of potential renters with an upstairs bath, no one wants to go up and down stairs to shower and if the market supports it, personally I'd keep a half bath downstairs and up the rent a bit. 1.5 baths is an amenity in my opinion where as 1 bath is a necessity.

If requested, an organizer is very simple to print out from most professional grade tax preparation software. She should be able to provide this. January is an excellent time to switch CPAs if you are unsure of your current provider. If you already have a majority of your information organized you sound like a client many firms would welcome, as late January and early February can be a bit slow while clients gather information.

Hi Eddie, It sounds like you are reporting your rental property on your individual tax return. You should be able to see any depreciation listed as a line item on Schedule E of your return. Keep in mind residential rental property is depreciated over 27.5 years, so it's not always a large amount. The CPA firms I have worked for have always provided a depreciation schedule for the client's reference but not all tax professionals choose to do this. You should be able to match the key numbers ( rent revenue, real estate taxes, insurance, mortgage interest) that you provided with you tax documents to the Schedule E, depending on how your tax preparer reported the bathroom renovation you may not have seen a large reduction in income for this. If you can't make sense of the amounts reported on Schedule E now is a good time to have this conversation before tax busy season gets under way. You can connect with a tax preparer from anywhere in the country, though staying in the northeast may increase their familiarity with NY tax laws. I recommend a CPA that specializes in real estate so that they can provide advice as you expand your portfolio. Any CPA can navigate a handful of properties but if they don't specialize they may miss opportunities and potential hazards specific to real estate investors.