All Forum Posts by: Sid Leibowitz

Mick. You should talk to your accountant. He has more facts. I just paid off my last property. No more interest payments. Interest is very expensive. If you knew how much it would probably disturb you. It did me.

I would absolutely use an accountant and since you have receipts you will probably get more than enough back to cover the cost of using one. The key point is use a "Good One." Easier said than done. You Should get some references and not from Their family members and Their closest friends. Use Your connections. Interview the accountant. Your the boss of him. Your paying! If you do not see a profit then Their fired. Got it? Do not let them electronically file for you until you know you will be getting money back. Just in case. I had a CPA do a return once and I would have had to pay 3000.00 I had many receipts also. I did not file that return. I went to another and that one had a refund of almost 4000.00. Go figure. That was 20 years ago.  Best  

Jay. You should consult a local attorney. Real estate laws can differ from state to state. Generally you as a landlord and responsible to maintain your property. There are no excuses for that. I know that it seems unfair as you have a tenant or squatter. It is for this and more reasons that I only flip houses now. Being a landlord is a very hazardous position and in the long run, I have found a losing situation. There are others that may argue that because they are lucky to not have the negative aspects of being a landlord which is an exhaustive list. The end product is Landlord =Loser. I flip one SFR every 90 days. Clean money. I do not have to go to court. Deal with head games and sometimes the personalities of some bad people or support a money pit. I like making a profit. That is my weakness. I like profit, LOL

Tom. I absolutely agree with Greg H. and there are more reasons as well. I will not bore you with more than what Greg said.  Your retired. Your in Florida. etc. Move on and be well. Be happy

Kyle. The laws may differ in different parts of the country. Learning the law and the process of buying and selling is important. There is a difference in being a "Salesperson",  "Agent", "Broker" and "Realtor". These are all associated however; have exact definitions. Un-eductated people use these terms as being the same. They are easy to spot when you are educated. This is an indication that you should go take the "Salespersons" course to just get the minimal education which is about 75 hours and about 250.00, plus the manual or you can just buy the study manual on your own for "Salesperson". Study guide. Once you read through the book, you do not have to file for a license if it does not fit your goals. I have a Salespersons license with the State. I do not work as a "Salesperson". Although I do have the education to go in that direction if I would like to. It certainly helps in understand the terminology and procedures. It is complicated. It helps protect yourself for sure from the poorly trained legal people or from people that claim to be in the industry, BS and scam artists. There are many that will fill your head with nonsense. If you do not learn the local real estate laws, then you  will probably be influenced by others that just talk and are not looking out for your best interest. IMHO

I have had to do a few of these over and had them done incorrectly and correctly. plenty of bad investment also. Concrete walkways and surfaces crack for a reason. Once water seeps down the crack and freezes it pushes the pieces apart, or erodes the support earth under the slab. Unstable ground under and gravity is the blame. Concrete does not expand without damage. Ground shifts with age. Without a properly prepared foundation you can't expect to stabilize the ground below unless it is on bed rock. Putting a band aide on a fracture will not mend the fracture. I would start over or not invest any time or money in the project unless you can do it properly. Tremors from minor earthquakes that you can not even feel will permanently damage slabs. There should be thought in engineering or not spend on something that will just fail. IMHO

Karen, Good luck on your quest

Christian. You must ave stable compacted ground for an patio. the old must be removed. The foundation under the slab is important or the finish slab will shift, sink and crack. You can do concrete with gravel and do finished concrete on top, or concrete/gravel and then blue stone finish or brick. if you try and do a shortcut without a foundation they you will be wasting money. You may want to just clean it all out and plant grass. If the new owner wants a patio, they will install what They want. 

Hello Karen. I tried being a landlord m,any years ago and It was a horror story. The odd and costly repairs, The mean spirited tenants and they were professionals, not from across the tracks by the river, snow removals, parking in unrealistic places, they adopted dogs that caused disturbances and turds, Just to name a few. Then late rent and they took in a brother. There were diminished returns. Then I tried flipping and I was way more successful without the aggravation and 90 day ROI. I have no idea who would want to become a landlord. I hope you and your husband are successful as well with this simpler trick.

Good Luck Karen. Sometimes guys have a harder time communicating their preferences. Try the flip approach. A cleaner deal. Being a landlord is a constant nuisance. He may already know that and does not want to be involved. .