All Forum Posts by: Henry W.

I have a 4000sf small piece of land 10 min walk from Compton Metro station which I would like to develop and then sell on or lease. I need help with the development aspect. I am hoping for a small single story 750sf office/retail or 2 storey 1500sf office retail. I want to get connected with either developers with track record in commercial that can JV with me in order to subsequently sell or lease the property out. Where is the best place to start.

@Linda Weygant thank you for the explanation. I do not have a tax preparer/CPA but I am considering one in Canada who seems knowledgeable in this area due to the number of canadians remaining resident in canada but doing business in the US.  They however recommended me to a LA tax attorney who said that profits from the trust are protected from Federal tax under the US/UK Tax treaty but unlikely to be protected from the state tax.

As the sale of the properties are under $100K there will be no applicable state tax in any event, simply the 15% federal tax on the gain. In any event as I had not executed the sales agreement I have proposed to the buyer to move all gains into the trust so that I only have one withholding tax matter to be worried about.

I have calculated the overall tax on the gain in question to be approximately $8000 while property taxes (accumulated losses) for each of the 3 prior years on an alternative building owned by the pension fund came to $3500 per year. It would appear despite the US/UK tax treaty the gain would be wiped out by the losses but it would be important to make a note of it at the time of filing.

He states that the filing requirements would simply require annotating the tax return with a statement and reference to the relevant tax treaty when filing the tax return. 

Fortunately filing deadline for foreign entities/persons is June 

@TK Lewis that seems like a good idea but bearing in mind that a major company that deals with foreign tax filing could not navigate their way easily through my tax issue I would doubt that Elance CPAs would have the requisite experience or knowledge without also referring me to talk to a Tax attorney.

Thanks for your suggestions though.

Thanks @Nick Coonis how far in are you with your development? Once I get my soils then the structural engineer steps in. 

@Nick Coonis would it be possible to use your method to produce a soils report for an engineer. I am being quoted over $5000 for a soils test which my engineer requires in order to complete structure drawings and calculations. 

For the past 4 years I have been investing in Commericial Real Estate and Land in Los Angeles, California. I did do one tax return in 2012 using turbo tax but I never bothered after because I was making more expenses/losses than gain and I am not a US resident. This year I will make  a small sum of about $50K due to a sale of two pieces of land. One of the lots is in my name and the other I purchased in my pension name. I have an SSN or EIN but my pension does not. I have looked at filing returns for prior years that will show modest expenses but mainly property taxes and it involves at least 10 tax returns and at $285 each it adds up a fair bit. In addition the CPA says he will charge a further $750 to file each 8288-B 

Does anyone know if there is a way I can structure this so I dont have to pay almost $5K in accounting fees. The other issue is that I am based in the UK and the specialist accountant I found is in Canada. He seems to simply focus on this area of business so I feel very confident using him despite him neither being in the US or in the UK. The only equivalent I found is based is in Maryland and due to the complexity, quoted $1500 per tax return.

Thank you so much Bill for pointing me in the right direction I do think the Witholding Taxes are not onerous coming to a maximum of 20% in total. Which is similar to what I would probably still pay even if I was not a foreign investor. Perhaps I should leave of the 1031 and llc and focus on finding a withholding tax expert to ensure a smooth sale.

I am a foreign investor that bought a couple of lots in Los Angeles tax sale in a structure that was meant for development and long term hold. One lot was in my name and the other was in my pension name. However I now need to sell in approximately one year. The cost was 5k and $40K and now being sold for $25K and $80K can I move them into an LLC and then complete the sale only to reduce the complications of withholding tax. The buyers are prepared to accommodate a 1031 exchange but I dont know how soon I can find a similar purchase in the auction. So question is what is the better option 1031, LLC or simply have my foreign company make a charge for most of the profit during the sale as I do not have a local agent representing. Thank you

Thank you maybe Ill just try the ifunding construction loans and then refinance conventionally.

Thank you, I have since confirmed with him and he has confirmed its just an ADU that cannot be sold separately. I was looking for the best way to finance the build without parting with the whole property but I guess there is the option of refinancing it and renting the ADU out which will pay the finance costs.

Thanks Again

 Thank you Manolo, thats exactly what I thought. I have already emailed the architect to say that I was not looking for a Single Family and an assesory. We may be able to do a lot split instead and see if we could get two houses