All Forum Posts by: Zachary LaJoye

I’m not a tax professional so you should probably double check this but as far as I’m aware you can still exclude a portion of the sale of your primary residence if you meet the previously established requirement of using it as such for 2/5 previous years. The amounts allowed to be excluded and claimed tax-free are $250,000 if single and $500,000 if married and filing jointly.

Bruno Orsanic I’m only just now finishing up the rehab and will be looking for tenants to move in August 1st. However the previous owners built the property 30+ years ago and in that time only had to evict a single tenant. Each unit rents for $1100 and my mortgage payment is $650. When I factor in insurance and property tax my monthly expenses add up to $950. Even with one unit sitting vacant I will break even after maintenance and other such expenses. As I said, I will be occupying one unit so I’m basically breaking even while living there. Based off the numbers, I’m not going to lose any sleep over possible vacancies. I’m not sure how the legal system handles leases and evictions over in Croatia and if they are in fact, simply “gentlemen’s agreements” that is unfortunate. In the U.S. leases are a binding legal contract giving the property owners the right to evict tenants who do not honor their end. Any property owner who is dealing with a large number of evictions or high vacancy rates at the expense of their cash flow needs to find better tenants or probably consider bringing in a property management firm.

Congrats on taking the first step. More details would definitely help to attract more eyes to the post and help solve your dilemma I think. What specifically is your problem?

     I'm not yet a seasoned pro but after talking to experienced investors/ listening to podcasts it seems most wish they would've went bigger sooner. If talking about first deals, this seems to mean not sitting on the sidelines any longer than necessary. Having just bought my first property after searching my local market relentlessly for over a year, I can 100% agree with this. The amount of knowledge I've gained from this first deal has more than negated any small missteps or inefficiencies I've had.

     The property is a duplex which I will be house-hacking after rehabbing both units. Both units are identical floor plans and I was able to add a third bedroom (making each unit a 3 bed 2 bath) and tear out the kitchen pantries creating twice as much counter space as before with a much more open floorplan. My offer was at asking and first on the table after the property was listed for less than 24 hours and the seller received two more offers that afternoon after mine (I'm in a very competitive market for small multifamily properties.) Having not known everything I had learned in the previous year from Bigger Pockets and getting to know my market by searching so meticulously, I highly doubt I would've had the confidence to pull the trigger so quickly. I've done the rehab all myself so far with the exception of contracting out the new HVAC installation and electrician and I've gained a great deal of experience and appreciation for what is involved. So for me, the process of finding the deal was definitely the most challenging part of my first deal.

     Part of me wishes I could have started earlier but at the same time this deal is looking to be a solid one as the numbers are indicating I will be able to recoup most of my rehab costs when I cash-out refinance the loan after the six month seasoning period passes. I hope this helps and good luck in your search!

Nice. I definitely wouldn’t hurt to get some comps in your area to have an idea of what you could sell for. especially since you’d be avoiding capital gains tax. A third option if you decide you want to keep the house but the rental numbers aren’t appealing enough, would be to use a heloc to pull out some equity and help you get started with your next buy.

As far as it being worth renting it out that is pretty straight forward. You’ve lived there for three years so you know all the financial details. Simply subtract your mortgage from half the anticipated gross monthly rent. The difference should give you a ballpark idea of your potential monthly cash flow. There are more detailed calculations if you want to factor in maintenance, vacancy, property tax, insurance, etc.

Have you given any thought to the idea of selling your current house since you bought it at a discount and it’s a sellers market right now? If the numbers don’t work too great for it as a rental that is what I would do.

I was in your shoes this time last year. Based off what I’ve learned I’d say do all the reading, podcast listening, etc. that you can. Start looking at and evaluating deals until it becomes second nature. What I realized is that experience is invaluable. Reading can only teach you so much and nothing trumps actually laying down the foundation and doing the footwork on your first deal. The practice you get from analyzing deals will help to ensure you don’t pay through the nose for your first deal so as long as you know your limits and don’t bite off a bigger project than you can handle, it should be a very positive and informative process. The last piece of advice I’ll leave you with is to urge you to not get into a state of paralysis before even getting started. Like any investing the best time to start was yesterday. Trying to hit a grand slam on your first deal is not near as important as simply getting that first deal and off of the sidelines. Good luck with your endeavors!

I would definitely check the building code in your area to see if you can put the metal on top of the shingles or if you will have to do a tear off first. If that quote includes the tear off than I’d say it’s a no-brainer. As far as looks go, I think metal roofs are sharp providing you stay away from overly bright cartoonish colors. Same school of thought as painting the walls light shades of neutral colors.

Joseph Cornwell Congrats from a fellow Cincinnatian! Just closed my first deal in the area and this post definitely provides some great motivation for thinking bigger and getting after it!