All Forum Posts by: Anthony G

I think I know the tax exemption you are referring to. If you can sell now, take some profit, and avoid taxes I would probably do that. You can always buy another rental property but the tax avoidance is a unique opportunity, especially on a property that is not a great rental.

@Harvey Levin The electric is metered individually, but gas and water are shared. My idea would be to convert each unit to all-electric and only be responsible for the water.

@Mike D'Arrigo The area I'm looking at has been doing better and would not be considered high-crime, but it is an older property. I'm mostly worried about risks associated with the fact that it was converted, but not documented as a four-unit. I would think the fact that it has separate electric meters would add some level of legitimacy to the fact that it was converted before zoning, but I don't really have any experience on whether Indy just considers these properties as "grandfathered" or if they try to enact some level of "enforcement."

I've been looking at some older multi-family properties in Indianapolis and saw one that had been converted from a duplex to a 4-family. The county records still indicate that it is a duplex but the conversion was obviously done years ago before zoning came into affect. Has anybody ever dealt with this before? Have you gone through the process to make it a "legal non-conforming" property or do you just not worry about it because the conversion was done before zoning?

I've never heard that they have to be replaced so I think you're fine.

I've wondered this myself. Maybe people take a higher interest on the initial loan to reduce closing costs as much as possible, then do a cash-out refi with a long-term rate after that?

@Cathy McCormick I'm not sure if you've resolved this or not but I'm not sure why it matters if it was recorded twice. As you say, both recordings have the same account number so the release from the mortgage company should cover both. At least that's how I would interpret it. Is the title office saying this is an issue?

Most of 46218 is pretty bad. The closer you are to Community East Hospital (16th and Ritter) and 46219, the better the area will be.

From what I see depreciation is the only loss that you could actually add back to your cashflow if you wanted to. The others are all real losses so tax savings on a loss is still a loss. So the way I see it you could take $300x.30(tax rate) and add that back to the monthly cashflow if you were so inclined (I don't think most people do). However, if your income is too high to deduct rental losses the tax savings will never materialize because you are already taking a loss on the basic monthly expenses. Your -$200 cashflow calculation would be how most people calculate a property's cashflow, but I noticed you didn't add anything for maintenance or repairs so you would probably be even further negative and depending solely on appreciation.

@Neil Hunter How far away from the property are you?

I have a property that is about an hour and half away from me. I've found that if I prescreen I can seriously reduce the number of showings I do. I've found that if a tenant has already driven by the property, likes the location, you have provided accurate photos and discussed requirements then you are much more likely to reduce your showings to serious renters only. I've almost stopped trying to get tenants off craigslist for that property, way too many tire kickers.

Maybe you should consider locking in the current rate for a longer lease instead of a lower rent. Most people would be happy to know the rate won't go up for an extended period of time if they sign a longer-tern lease.