All Forum Posts by: Angela Smith

Why not just keep the car and buy a beater truck? It's going to become a beater anyway. I'm not much for debt though. Your renters with fancy cars are renters because they have fancy car payments.

If this property was purchased with money that was a part of the marriage then he ex has a legitimate claim. I would recommend you lean hard on your partner to demand some information here. I expect there may be parts of the story you aren't privy too.

You confirmed what I was thinking. When I've used turbo tax for basic income in the past, I had minimal risk for errors. But, I think our situation now has enough complexity that I need help. A CPA it is. I have someone in mind. Will call next week and schedule an appointment.

Where are you looking? Your location will dictate the specifics you should target. We have only one property, so pretty new at this too. But, the area we bought is a C class area full of 1940's homes. All have basements, not livable space but good for storage and washer/dryer hookups. (Although the person we bought it from had a couch an tv down there, it's not intended for that). There are a mix of 2 and 3 bedrooms. Generally the three bedroom homes in this area have very very small bedrooms. We went with a 2 bedroom because the quality of the structure was sound and the price was right. When we were looking, the 3 bedrooms were over priced for the amount of work that was necessary. Get to know your target area, what is demanded by renters there and what the numbers say. Price, quality of the structure, the money necessary to rehab, and the rent it will bring.

How does self filing using turbo tax compare to a cpa? In years past, I have filed with turbo tax, but that was just our W2 income and our personal home. Now we have our first investment property. We bought and rehabbed, it is not yet rented. So, we have a net loss. Plus, I've never understood depreciation on our home and cars. I expect to hear a cpa can find ways to improve on turbo tax. Am I correct?

Is the inspection costly? Did you have any surprises from yours? Are there loads of forms to fill out? My main concern with the property is an old heating oil tank in the basement. It was obviously placed there as the house was being built ( in 1940). I have no idea if it's been emptied or not. It cannot be removed because the home was built around it. Any idea if this would be a problem for section 8?

Where do I go to learn how to be able to accept section 8 tenants in Indy? I need to learn about this to decide it it's right for my property.

Get your financing lined up before you make an offer.  If you decide to make an offer, you should be ready to move on it right away.  Otherwise, I don't see what you have to lose.  The worst they could say is "no".

Well, in areas where properties are being snatched up, you likely won't find a "deal", as the seller will could easily get more than you want to pay. 

It's the less desirable areas that can be bought for a song.

Pay or leave.  Not sure you can get anything from them without filing.