All Forum Posts by: Wayne Solum

Okay, you jogged my memory.  I was wondering why there was a place to add more assets to a rental property.

Thanks!

I'm trying to do my 2015 taxes.  I bought my very first two rental properties towards the end of 2015 so I have no previous experience with this. 

From what I understand, loan origination costs cannot be included in the basis of a rental property nor can they be deducted in the year incurred but instead must be amortized over the life of the loan.  That seems fairly simple.

Yet I cannot for the life of me find where I'm supposed to enter this in my tax software (H&R Block Premium) or directly on a form.  (I thought Form 4562, Section VI might be it but the description of what to record there does not include loan origination costs.)

I've entered the basis and it's calculated the depreciation but it doesn't ask for loan origination expenditures or anything to be amortized.

Can anyone offer some guidance?

Thanks,

Wayne

Wayne,

The property I closed on was my primary residence in order to gain cash to invest.  Do I add those costs to the two properties (now 4) that I bought with the proceeds?

I've also heard that memberships could be added to the basis of properties purchased as a result of the membership.  Is this true?

Wayne

I just sat through a seminar hoping to find clear answers to the following, but didn't:

Are closing costs associated with a cash-out refinance on my primary residence deductible in whole or in part for tax purposes?  The funds were used for real estate investing.

Can a real-estate investment club membership be deducted as a business expense?  I used their real-estate agents and purchased two single-family rental properties in 2015.

I've tried using the search box up above but it's not very helpful.  Surely there's a better tool for this.  I'm sorry if the questions I asked have been asked numerous times.

Thanks,

Wayne

I'm going through the loan documents and noticed I'm paying for 3.376 discount points to get a rate of 5%.  I have a FICO of 814, excellent credit history, and interest rates are low - why am I having to pay points to get 5%?  Are mortgage rates for investment properties higher by nature or am I needing to shop around?

Thanks,

Wayne

 James -

By multi-family I mean apartment deals, and passive - just contributing funds with the expectation of a return. By MFR, are you meaning duplex/fourplex? Forgive me for my confusion - totally new to this.

Thanks

I'm 51 years old, married and have six children ranging in age from 6 to 24.  I've lived in this area for 31 years.  My day job is SQL programming and have been working in database development since 1991.  As far as real-estate experience goes, I have bought two homes in my lifetime as personal residences and I am the president of our neighborhood's property owner's association.  That's it.

I lost all of my retirement savings (such as it was) between 2007 - 2010 in a failed business venture.  I am now considering real estate investing as a way to build passive income and build wealth.  I have equity in my home and a small amount of savings and am trying to determine what direction to go -- my two options at the moment are single-family rentals and passive investing in multi-family.  I just don't see how the passive multi-family will accomplish my goals.

I really need to define a plan at this point.  Any pointers along those lines would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Wayne

I'm considering a rental in San Antonio.  The house is in ready-to-go condition but the home next door has an old tarp covered trailer in the front yard that has flat tires.  It's been there for years.  It's on Google street view images from 2013 and is there today.

Does something like this make rental difficult or reduce rental price?

Thanks,

Wayne

I understand the situation now.  Fannie Mae will refinance it but their limits are that they will fund 75% of the appraised value OR the amount currently owed, whichever is less.  If I pay cash, the amount I owe is zero so no refi loan.

If I owe hard money, then they can lend me that amount as long as it's not greater than 75% of the appraised value.

Thanks.

So, of using cash ties up the equity then my plans can't work.  It would tie up nearlyall my investment money.  I could tie it up for 2-3 months to save a few thousand closing costs, but not if I can't rrefi for a whole year.