All Forum Posts by: Andrew Hernandez

@David Zheng you only have to pay commission if the property is listed on the MLS. And then, the fee is subject to whatever is in the listing agreement. My mistake was 1. Not saying "Hey, let's make the fee 50% months rent", and 2. "Let's make the split 60% listing agent, 40% buying agent". The fee section is ambiguous in my agreement tho. In this case, I think the only thing for me to do is suck it up and pay since one party is my family and the other is my tenant.

I agree that as an investment, this property isn't so hot. By moving we will be saving $100+/month in mortage/rent, $100+/month in tolls, $100 in gas, and 30-60 minutes a day driving. I know those aren't usual considerations when considering an investment, but all told it'll be a $300 swing. Also, I just wanted to up my rental count to two, even if #2 isn't nearly as profitable as #1. I learned a lesson on this one.

Spoke with my agent. As I understand it, the MLS stipulated 1 month's rent as the fee and it is going to get split 50/50 between her and the buyer agent (my tenant). I am just a bit befuddled because I don't remember agreeing to one month's fee and don't remember signing anything pre listing either. I guess I am out of luck. I guess I'll recoup 67% of 50% or whatever, but bummed that a whole years of CF is gone.

I am in the process of renting out my primary residence to a couple. My mother in law, who is an agent listed the property on the MLS and assisted us with the process. She was not going to charge us anything.

Now, the tenant is also an agent and just asked me how we are going to handle agent commission. What? She is mentioning this after already signing the lease and sending first month's payment. Nothing was pre negotiated in terms of commission. Do I have to pay her anything? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi @Dylan Tettemer. Everything Will Smith said about Miami is 100% true. I'd be happy to connect. I have two rentals, but more importantly, I am a salsa instructor. An essential skill if you are going to live down here!

Hi @Kyle Pelech. We have no state income tax in Florida, but I do not think that has anything to do with rental income. Here is what the IRS says about reporting rental income. Basically it flows through to your regular taxable income if you do not hold the real estate in a business.

If you rent real estate such as buildings, rooms or apartments, you normally report your rental income and expenses on Form 1040, Schedule E, Part I. List your total income, expenses, and depreciation for each rental property on the appropriate line of Schedule E. See the Instructions for Form 4562 to figure the amount of depreciation to enter on line 18.

If you have more than three rental properties, complete and attach as many Schedules E as are needed to list the properties. Complete lines 1 and 2 for each property, including the street address for each property. However, fill in the “Totals” column on only one Schedule E. The figures in the “Totals” column on that Schedule E should be the combined totals of all Schedules E.

If your rental expenses exceed rental income your loss may be limited. The amount of loss you can deduct may be limited by the passive activity loss rules and the at-risk rules. See Form 8582, Passive Activity Loss Limitations, and Form 6198, At-Risk Limitations, to determine if your loss is limited.

If you have any personal use of a dwelling unit that you rent (including a vacation home or a residence in which you rent a room), your rental expenses and loss may be limited. See Publication 527, Residential Rental Property, for more information.  

Thanks for the reply @Samuel Awosolu. Yes this is Dade county. I live far south and am looking even further south near a very large and nice Baptist Hospital.

Hi, I am trying to analyze 1 property a day to practice, but also to find one to purchase. This one is a bit out of the city so I set a conservative rent amount of $1,200 for a 2/2. Similar units in a more dense area of the county can go for $1,400 - $1,700. It is listed for $105,000 by Fannie Mae. It looks good for $90,000 according to the calculation.

Hi Andy, I'm Andy from Miami. Much success to you and your team!

Hi Dan. For my tenant application I actually used a Google form which was simple and effective. Here it is. Tenant Application It'll aggregate all the submissions so pretty easy. 

For background check I use a TransUnion website https://www.mysmartmove.com/. You simply send the applicant the link and they pay for it ($25 or so) and fill everything out. You get the results quickly. The good thing is you never see the tenants SSN# so less liability for you. This service does an eviction report, credit check, and criminal background check.