All Forum Posts by: Brian Hamilton

Hi, everyone! My wife and I are considering buying a live-in flip, but we probably wouldn’t plan to stay the full two years to get the capital gains tax exemption. If we buy it, make it our primary residence, and sell it in 6-8 months, what kinds of taxes will we owe on the profit? Am I understanding correctly that we’ll owe ordinary income tax, but since we’re living in the property, we -won’t- owe self-employment taxes? Thanks so much for your help!

I'm working towards buying a house hack in central Florida, but the handful of properties I've identified as possibilities are all already rented out. I know I have to honor any existing leases (assuming there's no language to the contrary in the lease agreements). But would it be possible to put some language in an offer that says that the purchase is contingent on the current landlord being able to negotiate the release of one of the tenants from their current lease? Are there other ways of approaching this situation? Or do I just need to keep looking for a property that has vacancies?

Thanks for the quick replies!

The stated income is for both sides; I'm running the numbers as if I wouldn't be living there. I'd also plan to manage the property myself for at least as long as I live in the building, but the advice I've heard has been to make sure the numbers work even if I had to pay for management. Is that right, or is that being too conservative for a house hack?

As for "misc.," I have in mind the kinds of things Jon is mentioning--turnover costs, cleaning fees after turnover, tax and legal help, lawn care. I'd plan to get more specific about those if I found a particular place that seemed in the ballpark.

Hello, all! I'm new to real estate investing. I'm hoping to buy my first property--ideally, a house hack duplex in central Florida--within the next year. But I've been keeping an eye on the MLS for the last six or eight months, and none of the numbers look good. It may just be that I'm going to have to look for deals another way, but it's got me worried I'm doing something wrong in my initial estimates.

Here's how I'm calculating my estimates, using a current duplex on the market as an example. I'd say this is a B neighborhood. These are some of the better numbers I've seen in my area, but it's obviously a non-starter if my estimates are reasonable. Are they?

Asking Price: $125,000

Gross Scheduled Income: $15,900/year

Less 5% Vacancy: $795

Operating Income: $15,105

Less Operating Expenses: $7,630

Insurance (1% of purchase price): $1,250

Property Taxes: $815

Management Fees (10% of scheduled income): $1,590

Repairs and Maintenance (5%): $795

CapEx (10%): $1,590

Misc. (10%): $1,590

Net Operating Income: $7,475

Less Debt Service: $681/month, $8,172/year (assuming a 5% down payment on a 4.5% mortgage, with .8% PMI)

Cash Flow: -$58/month, -$697/year

Thanks to you both! Really helpful.

Bump! Any advice?

Hello, all! I’m new to these forums, and to real estate investing in general. To get started, I’m planning a house hack in central Florida.

My question is this: at what stage is it appropriate to ask the seller for a profit and loss statement? Can I ask for that before I put an offer on a place, or does that more reasonably belong to the due diligence phase?

The background: One of the duplexes I've got my eye on already has tenants in both units, and the seller has said she won't disturb them to show the place until there's an offer on the table. (Is this normal? I can sort of understand the reason, but it feels a little scammy.) I'm not willing to put an offer in on the sole basis of a public MLS listing, so I was thinking of asking for a P&L statement and some further information on the current leases and recent capital expenses before committing anything. Is that okay to ask for?

Thanks for any help!