All Forum Posts by: Bob Norton

You could try to track down the owner and make an offer on the property, then wholesale it to a rehabber.

Who knows?  It could be owned by a wealthy person or a trust, who has someone paying bills on their behalf, and that person simply pays the tax bill each year because they always have paid the bill.  Most likely, no one is paying the tax bill, but someone has been purchasing the tax liens and it will eventually be transferred to the tax lien holder.

Matt, you could consider using an Improvement Exchange.  I didn't see anyone mentioning this option.  This is where you use a 1031 exchange to sell an existing property and purchase/rehab the replacement property.  You will have to complete the purchase/rehab within 180 days of selling the relinquished property, so planning is key.  Since you have two properties, you could do this type of exchange per property, or combine the two into one larger property. The investment in the replacement property must be more than the selling price of your relinquished property to avoid any taxes.  If you are interested in this option, you should contact an exchange intermediary that does these kinds of exchanges and they can walk you through the process to see if this type of exchange works for you.  

Rebecca, ask prospective CPAs if they own any rental properties.  Ask them how many clients they have that are landlords.  Then, ask them their process for preparing tax returns.  Many tax preparers simply take the information given to them and enter it in the tax return.  This appears to be what happened to your relative.  You want a CPA who analyzes the data they receive and asks questions about information that appears to be missing.  I hope this helps. 

I'm naturally opposed to overpaying taxes. With that said, I don't recall reading in the tax code anything "requiring" you to claim any deductions, only what is allowed. If you are using the BRRRR method, then you will have an income stream from the rental and that will count as your income as well. If you have kept your purchase + rehab within 70% of ARV, then you should be able to get a bank loan through the commercial department of the bank. And, try to stick with the smaller, local banks and avoid the larger regional or national banks.

Wayne, just tell him what you are wanting to do and let him talk.  After meeting with him, seek out other investors at a local real estate investors association meeting, and continue to go to learn about the process.  Also, if you haven't already done so, listen to the BiggerPockets podcasts.  

Google 1 hour fire rated wall.  You will find a description of what this means, plus there are pictures of different solutions for constructing the wall.