All Forum Posts by: Beverly Buella

Thanks everyone!  That's why I love this place.  There are a lot of great points that were brought up.  I guess the other thing I forgot to mention was that that I wouldn't be completely missing out on buying a house, because we buy/fix/sell also. BUT in that scenario, we wouldn't be taking advantage of tax benefits available to home owners.

@Russ Draper I'm so used to getting taxed on everything, I honestly completely forgot about the $250k ($500k) tax free profit for owner occupied properties, which is a game changer.  

@Melissa Warnock Yes, I do see how renting can get old. I don't mind renting (for now) because we are in a great scenario now, but yes it will change.  We're getting a really good deal which is a huge plus, but living behind our closest friends and having our kids/families play (to me) is priceless.  The guy next door to me bought his house with the intention of marrying the person he bought it with. I might have to ask him to sell it to me! 

@Account Closed I think there was a misunderstanding in the way the scenarios I put out there were interpreted, but even then- I understand what you're saying completely.  

My thinking with renting is that rather than buy a place in an area we can't afford, that we buy a place in an area we CAN afford, have that property cash flow and appreciate, etc. and pay the rent to live in the house/area that we want to live.  The mortgage numbers for a $400k loan noted above sound great, but the taxes here throw those numbers off a lot. Therefore, we're not truly throwing money out the window in rent, we're letting the other house that we buy cash flow and pay for the house that we live in. BUT there are the tax benefits that were mentioned that I'm not factoring in and the renting will get old.

We just moved into this place 6 months ago to be in a better school district and for the opportunity to live near our closest friends and it's been great, but definitely not a long term plan.  The landlord has no plans of selling so staying here isn't an option unless we rent from him forever. But anyhow, yes- I'll definitely need to re-evaluate!

Thanks so much!

@Jonathan G. what I was saying was that what we pay monthly would be 50% more if we bought a place in the area where we currently live. i.e. rent = $2k and if we bought, our monthly payment would be closer to $3k, given the high taxes.   We are actually paying approximately 25% below market rent.

@Russ Draper I think renting is throwing your money away if there are no plans to buy. What I'm asking for is feedback on whether the benefits of buying an owner occupied house where our monthly payment would be 50% more, far exceeds the benefits of paying less to buy a house that receives enough rent and would offset the cost of the property I live in.

The question is, would you:

Scenario A) Buy an owner occupied house for $400k, monthly payment would be around $3k (15 year mortgage)

Scenario B) Rent the house you live in, buy a house for $250k, monthly payment is around $2k (15 year mortgage), rent coming in is around $2500-$3k

Thx!

Hi there!

I just wanted to get some thoughts on renting vs. buying. My husband and I currently rent the house that we live in. We really like the block, our neighbors, etc. and on top of that we're getting a really awesome deal because the landlord knew that we knew the neighbors and had a feeling we'd be good tenants. We're paying below market rent to live in a great location. If we bought a house in the area in which we live, our monthly payment would be around 50% more than what we currently pay.

I am all for the idea of buying with a long term plan in mind. At the same time, I'm hesitant on buying a house that we occupy because it gives us less flexibility if my husband's job changes, which it does every 2-3 years. I've been leaning more towards buying a multi-unit in a rapidly appreciating area vs. a single family home in the area that we currently live in (a suburb with a great school district and is appreciating, but taxes are high), with the idea that the rents on the property we buy (say $5k total in rents) would exceed the rent that we are paying (say $2500 rent).

I'm totally excluding any tax benefits/liabilities for this scenario and am purely looking at it from a monthly payment perspective. I am not super keen on the differences in the tax benefits or liabilities for owning a home vs. renting out an investment property.

What are your thoughts? Would you:

a) continue to rent in the area you love, and use the money you would to buy your house in order to buy a cash flowing property

or would you you:

b) buy a house in the area that you love and increase your monthly living expenses by 50% more?

I like the flexibility that renting offers. At the same time, there are all the "pride of home ownership" benefits that come along with owning your house and making it yours, etc. Just wanted to see what other people are doing and if me favoring renting vs. buying an owner occupied property is really off base!

Thx so much-

Great block, nice, clean property, ready for a new tenant. Finished basement, all new mechanicals. Very well maintained. Also available in this listing is 2945 Ruth Street. Make an offer. Ideally the seller would like to sell them as a package, but will sell them individually as well

List price: 3/1, $39k
Rent: $790/month
Showing instructions: Vacant on lockbox. Call or text 267-560-7712 for lockbox code.

CLICK HERE FOR PICS!  

Great block, nice, clean property, ready for a new tenant. Finished basement, all new mechanicals. Very well maintained. Also available in this listing is 147 N. 56th. Make an offer. Ideally the seller would like to sell them as a package, but will sell them individually as well.

List price: 3/1, $39k
Rent: $675/month

Showing instructions: Vacant on lockbox. Call or text 267-560-7712 for lockbox code

CLICK HERE FOR PICS! 

Great block, nice, clean property, ready for a new tenant. Finished basement, all new mechanicals. Very well maintained. Also available in this listing is 147 N. 56th. Make an offer. Ideally the seller would like to sell them as a package, but will sell them individually as well.


List price: 3/1, $39k
Rent: $675/month

Showing instructions: Vacant on lockbox. Call or text 267-560-7712 for lockbox code                                                                                      

Great block, nice, clean property, ready for a new tenant. Finished basement, all new mechanicals. Very well maintained. Also available in this listing is 2945 Ruth Street. Make an offer. Ideally the seller would like to sell them as a package, but will sell them individually as well

List price: 3/1, $39k
Rent: $790/month
Showing instructions: Vacant on lockbox. Call or text 267-560-7712 for lockbox code.

Hi there,

I'd like to hear from any agents who currently have their license as a real estate agent and also wholesale, especially if you're in the Philadelphia area or Pennsylvania. In my wholesaling business if I haven't found a buyer using my own list/marketing methods, I'll do a flat fee listing on the MLS which will usually get it sold. The seller fully understands that I am not acting as an agent and is fine with however I market it, including the MLS.

My question is, does your broker make a cut of anything you make as a wholesaler?  If my business as a wholesaler is one that I've established on my own, then does the broker deserve a portion of that because I have my license?  Or does your broker only receive commissions from sales in which you're solely acting as an agent? In my mind, anything I make as a wholesaler is mine.  Anything I make as an agent, gets split as we agreed.  

I'm just looking to see what other agents/wholesalers are doing and what they've agreed upon with their brokers to make the relationship mutually beneficial.

Thanks!

I hired a VA a couple of months ago. She is located in my state, but not local in the sense that we don't meet and she's over an hour drive. Luckily, I am not bound by giving her a minimum number of hours per week for work. Before hiring her, I envisioned her doing my marketing for selling properties (that I have under contract to sell or are listing), run comps for offers and pulling lists from the MLS for mailings, among other things. I'm finding all of this really hard to hand off to someone who has no knowledge of my market. I'm finding a lot of the things she can do, I can just send off to my cheaper VA in India. I'm curious to know whether folks on here who have virtual assistants, have been successful in using VA's to do things that require market knowledge or if those tasks should be saved for a live assistant who is local. I know there's Skype, but I definitely don't think someone can learn about a market without driving through it and seeing it with your own eyes. I could be totally wrong, but just wondering what your experiences are. Thanks!

Hi James,

Thanks for sharing that info.  I can see the benefit of having a license as a rehabber, but initially felt that having a license AND wholesaling would be a disadvantage, thinking I'd have to stop my wholesaling business.  However, I've been talking with my instructors and people in the business, and as long as I disclose that I'm an agent and am clear with my intention, then it shouldn't interfere with my wholesaling business.  I would continue my marketing as normal, but would disclose that I'm an agent.  My goal is to use my license as a means of listing properties that aren't wholesale deals. It's happened too many times where I refer a property to an agent and can't get anything more than a thank you (even a referral would be nice!) even though I'm the one who built the rapport with the seller.

Anna, I haven't received any private messages. I may post it on a different forum to see if I get any more responses that way.