All Forum Posts by: Spencer Krautkramer

Hi Everyone,

I am currently living in a duplex house hack in the Milwaukee area that I've been in for about 1.5 years. I am now ready to start looking for my 2nd one. For those that have done multiple house hacks or are knowledgeable on the subject, what steps should I take while still living in this property before starting to make offers on another duplex? Are there any lessons people have learned from their 2nd or 3rd house hack? Should I be looking for new insurance or put it in an LLC or anything first? Thanks in advance.

For those local investors, I will be looking in the Wauwatosa and West Allis areas.

Does anyone in the Milwaukee area rent out a room on Air BnB? I am currently house-hacking and will have an empty room. I would like to find a way to generate additional income and am exploring options other than having a long-term roommate. Any input is greatly appreciated! I am specifically located in Bay View.

I am currently house-hacking an upper/lower duplex and recently had a tenant turnover. The new tenant has a dog, which I decided to allow and had them sign a Pet Agreement. However, the dog has excessive barking whenever the tenant is not home. I am going back through the signed Pet Agreement and I do have two statements pertaining to this that read "Tenant will not allow pet(s) to cause any danger, damage, nuisance, undue noise, or health hazard," and "Dogs: Must be controlled at all times. Must be kept on a short leash while on grounds or in common areas. Barking which becomes a nuisance to other tenants will not be tolerated." Even with these statements on the signed Pet Agreement, does anyone have any suggestions for how to handle this situation? They just signed a lease recently and have 11 months left. When I've met the dog in person, it's very calm and nice; it just seems to bark a lot when its owner is not home. I'm hoping it's getting used to its new home, but that may not be the case. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

1. I’ve gotten a couple letters in the mail after just recently purchasing my first property - they are about Mortgage Protection Life Insurance or Mortgage Payment Protection Programs. Is this spam or legit, and what is everyone's thoughts on this? Is it something that’s worth doing and paying for or not?

For those that live in cold states, do you replace your furnaces before winter if you think it might be on the last leg of its life to avoid an emergency in the middle of winter? If so, how do you know when it's time to replace them?

I know this is a controversial topic, but what are people's thoughts? If you inherited tenants with below-market rent, how much is acceptable to raise it if they want to stay? Are there any limits on price increases in the City of Milwaukee? This specific property is in Bay View for those local folks.

Is there any way to write off or deduct your own labor or sweat equity put into an investment property? I prefer to do things myself to save on labor costs but realize I would write off or deduct much more when doing taxes if I had hired it out. Are there any ways that you can put a price on your own labor to include it in rental expenses?

I am wondering what happens if the expenses towards a rental property exceed the amount you get in rental income, what happens that that excess dollar amount? 

I am currently house hacking (living in one unit of a duplex I just purchased). I will be sticking quite a bit of money into the property this fall that I would like to write off when doing my 2023 taxes. I am realizing that since I just bought the place, I won't have much rental income for this year - therefore, the expenses would exceed the income. Am I able to apply those expenses toward my W2 income at all?

I'm wondering if I should push some of these projects off until 2024. Any advice is welcome.

I'm wondering what people's preferences are when it comes to window treatments (blinds, shades, curtains, drapes)? I'm currently house hacking and am thinking about installing blinds. However, wondering what is the best for when I move out and it's a rental. Trying to think of what becomes less maintenance or issues and isn't too expensive up front. 

If you pull a permit as a homeowner for a project, since the permit is in your name and you're liable - if the contractor doing the work gives you their certificate of insurance is there anything else you could be on the hook for?