Pay The Seller's Closing Costs

[Kevin Sobilo]

A thought occurred to me. What if when buying as part of the negotiation you offer to pay the seller's closing costs especially real estate commissions for an equivalent reduction in price?

It would not affect how much money the seller puts in their pocket, but it would give you a larger expense to write off and get you some tax savings.

It would reduce your cost basis and lower your yearly depreciation a little, so it mostly moving your tax savings you year #1 rather than spread over 27.5 or 40 years. Considering the time value of money and the fact that you may not fully depreciate anyways, it seems like something that could give you a modest benefit.

Any thoughts? Maybe I am missing something. I don't think I have read or heard about this before although I'm sure its not a new idea.