All Forum Posts by: Shane Johnson

Chris Clothier - I agree, I have been an active reader on here awhile. I appreciate everyones input and opinion, but I too was waiting for Stevens response, which I also figured may say something like, find a professional and build a relationship. :)

This time I decided to go on my own, using this forum over the past few months, Turbo Tax Premium and Google, I was able to figure a few things out. I hope to buy another house by the end of this year, to renovate. Still undecided if I want to flip, or fix, refi and rent. Either way, I will definitely be seeking accounting and CPA advice ahead of time, and from what I learned doing my taxes this year, I will be keeping much better records. I didnt get too aggressive on my deduction claims, but still ended up with a large amount of itemized deductions/much lower AGI.

Kyle J.

I have paid in the past as well. I didnt feel like what he was doing was worth $250 all said and done. I will say though, that my assets/liabiliaties and taxes are *probably a lot less complicated than yours.

funny you mention that, after i posted this, i jumped on turbo tax, and literally am going through the premier software right now. :)

I bought my second house this year at the end of July. I rent my first house out to my mother. I could use guidance on maximizing my tax return. Can someone please advise me on how I should be claiming (and on what form?) interest/taxes and rental income on both properties? I have done this in the past on my main home, but not sure how to do this properly, with the 2nd home now, which is not my primary residence. I also made improvements to the newest house immediately. Being that it is homesteaded, I imagine those are not deductable?

Also, I own them both in my name. I did not form a legal entity or LLC as a property management entity, or for the first property. Is this something I should look into even though I only own 2 properties at this point? Remember I am renting to my mom. (im implying liability is low). Is there any tax advantage for starting an entity for my first property?

Any help would be appreciated. I would like to save a couple hundred bucks by doing my taxes myself, and learn a thing or two as well. Besides the houses, I have no other businesses at this time, just w-2 income, so it should be fairly easy. Thank you in advance!

Emma T. -

Very ambitious! I agree with trying to buy cash at half price. The price being lowered to 400 means nothing. If you can buy for cash for half or at least 60-70 cents on the dollar of fair market value, then take it to the bank to have it financed. Take your money back out, renovate the upstairs so you can live in it, insulate very well above pub, so anyone can live there comfortably, even while the pub is open into the wee hours of the night. Market the bottom to a restaurant/pub owner. Commercial leases are great, you can easily lock someone in for multiple years. I am sure someone is dreaming of leasing the space and opening up their dream pub by the coast. Let them run the business and you just collect the rent while you live there for cheap. When your ready to move, rent out the upstairs too. :)

That's my non-professional opinion. :)

Harry took the words out of my mouth. 2% is ideal, and a lot of times, only attainable in war zones. If you think you can buy a property and get 2% rent in my neighborhood, pass me two of whatever your smoking. :) ... I absolutely stole my house at a HUD auction, and with only some lipstick renovation (redid floors, paint etc) I have about 85k into it- and I could maybe rent for roughly 1.5% and I feel really good about my purchase.

Because I am self-managing, I live close, and am pretty handy and have family and friends to help, I have no problem buying a property at 1.25-1.33% rents to purchase cost.

From reading your first posts, and questions, and lack of financing knowledge... My advice to you is to study your market for 2-3 more months, read on this website every single night, and learn as much as you possibly can. Also aim to buy a home at HUD auction, or a foreclosure, or best yet, buy one that is not marketed at all, to ensure you get the best deal possible. If you are buying off the MLS, most times you are already paying more than you should, from an investor standpoint.

Stuff happens. I am pretty sure its self policing. While not totally ethical, I wouldn't lose sleep over it, especially since you paid cash. Now if I had a mortgage that could be called due... different story...

http://www.startribune.com/business/182087001.html

Yet another REIT trying to suck up all the distressed properties. yay.... not.

If you bought it at 200k and sold at 250k, did you rehab it for free? Steal all the materials? Lol

Thanks for the reply Tyson S. I am in a similiar situation - bought a house with conventional financing, at a deep discount (got real lucky on a HUD auction) and hope to do what you did. I am also hoping the new LTV ratio will drop the PMI. I am paying $61 per month in PMI, so if my payment increases a slight amount, losing the PMI should offset a bit of it. I just hope the rates stay where they are for the next 9 months(if i have to wait that long for 1 year seasoning) as I am at 4% now. If at the bare minimum I recoup my down payment and the improvements ive made, I will be happy, and still have plenty of equity and cash flow.