All Forum Posts by: Joel C.

Hello,

I bought a rental property in Texas last year with hard money. I then fixed it up and refinanced into a 30 year conventional loan. My question is how do I go about reporting this on taxes?

Do I need to claim the purchase with the hard money and then the refi? I'm a little confused since this was my first purchase using hard money.

Thanks for your help.

Joel

Hey everyone,

I live in Austin, TX and I'm looking for some good rental zip codes/markets in the San Antonio, TX area. My main focus is middle to lower income, decent neighborhoods, with good quality tenants. I'm not familiar with the SA market just yet so I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Hey Colleen, thanks for the feedback. I do want to clarify I only replaced the damaged portion of the floor. I did not replace the entire downstairs floor just where the damage occurred (the bathroom, the bedroom, and part of the hallway.) I also made sure to purchase the least expensive flooring material to help reduce costs to the tenant. Thanks.

@Brant Richardson there was no warping initially when the tenant moved in. The tenant informed me their washer was leaking after the leaking had caused the warping in the flooring. When he first told me about the leaking that's when he told me the floors were already warped which indicates to me that he did not tell me the first time he saw the leaking. I hope that clarifies a few things. Thanks for your advice Brant.

Thanks Nicole for your help. I believe TX law is when returning tenant's SD it must be within 30 days from when they vacated the property and must be accompanied by an itemized invoice. TX does not require the owner to pay interst on the SD.

I returned the tenant's SD within 15(ish) days from when they vacated along with an itemized invoice of all activities and discounts.

Hey Nicole, thanks for the reply. Yes I did all the work. My father in law is a GC so i got an amazing deal, and passed that on to the tenant. I also did not charge the tenant for my work (demo, laying tile, etc.) so he actually received an additional $300(ish) off as well.

They are challenging it and demanding the entire deposit and have said they are taking me to court.

So here is the situation...

On October 1st my tenant mentioned their washer (purchased by them) was leaking and that there was major warping in the downstairs bathroom (also the washer/dryer room), bedroom, and hallway. When they brought this to my attention they told me water would leak from the ground every time there was heavy rain. I had a contractor come out and take a look and he could not find any issues, plus the tenant's unit is on 2 feet of concrete slab so I doubt that is the issue. I suggested the tenant get a second opinion since they could be liable for damages. The tenant never received a second opinion and when they moved out in the beginning of January I replaced the floor and sent the tenant the remaining portion of his security deposit with an itemized bill of work.

Here's what I know.

1. The tenant didn't report the issue immediately because the floors had already been warped.

2. The tenant had the option to get a second opinion but didn't get one. The tenant told me their washer was leaking a month before (September), and I informed him the washer is his responsibility and he must replace it.

3. After the tenant left I had a plumber come out to see what might have caused the damage. He did mention there was a slight drip in one of the valves but it could not have caused that much water damage.

Here's my question, ultimately who is responsible for paying the damages?

Thanks for your help.

Darren Sager, you're the man. Thanks buddy for your help.

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a good real estate agent in the Austin, Kyle, Buda, Round Rock and San Antonio area to help me locate some real estate deals. If you know anyone (or you're that person) please let me know so we can chat. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

Michael Siekerka, I'm mainly looking for SFR around Austin (as far as San Marcos) with an ARV of 100-140k. Thanks for the advice about the REFI time period, I'll make sure to find the right lendor.

David Beard, I like the idea of flipping one and renting one, I might look into that strategy. Thanks for your help.

If anyone knows someone that has a similar investment strategy and needs some help I'd love to shadow/help anyway I can to gain experience. I don't mind getting my hands dirty to learn the ropes.

Thanks guys.