All Forum Posts by: Brendan L.

Hey, I got 30+ comments and 10 or so direct messages of interest in my first apartment, an owner occupied duplex. On one hand, the unit is coming off being occupied by smokers, so its not a taj mahal, on the other hand, that level of interest at the price 1 month away from it being available makes me think there's room for an increase.

I was thinking about messaging each person and telling them I've had an overwhelming response and will be doing 850 instead of 825. Its not much for either of us, but I'm wondering if doing that allows me to see what kind of people these are- whether they're flexible and motivated, or if they get angry/annoyed. 

What should I do? Leave it for a year and raise by 5%/year? Go for a personal note with this slight increase? Other?

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, I want to just figure out how the deductions work. I know I'll move into one side and have a tenant on the other for a couple months, but she'll be moving out so I can change units. Obviously, it would be nice to deduct as much as possible without being fraudulent. If I want to deduct something like paint for the unit I'm moving into first, can I buy that now and then move into the other unit later and still deduct it? Or do I need to not be living in the painted unit at the time of purchase to be able to deduct it?  What if I purchase the paint now for the the other unit because its on sale, but paint it when I move into it?

Just bought a duplex, owner occupied. Current tenant is on section 8, but she doesn't have her kids anymore, so she is overhoused in this 3 bedroom. Housing authority needs me to come down to 650 from 775 for her to be able to stay.

Pro: no vacancy, only her and her boyfriend, so no kids, 2/3 rooms aren't getting used and theoretically less wear and tear. They're clean, reasonable seeming people. 

Con: Lower rent

She likes it there and wants to stay. Are there creative ways for me to get more value despite lower section 8 support? Could I set up a separate agreement for her to pay for "services"? Or ways for me to put more costs onto her, if she is willing (e.g. water bill)? 

@Orkeem Davis thanks man

To update on this, they finally got that tenant out last weekend, while I moved into a month to month apartment to wait for the closing, which is now set to mid August. So its happening! When they moved him out, the trash truck was more filled than the moving truck, so I anticipate a bigger project than I was expecting, but I've done the numbers 100 different ways, and it will be hard for me to lose money in the long run and will be a relatively low risk way to get experience.

A conventional mortgage owner occupancy clause only states that they must intend to move in within 60 days. There is no written minimum length of time they must stay. If they move in, but their dream home comes on the market and they only stay in the first home for a couple months, is there trouble to get into or snags in the second lending process if they go for an FHA loan on that second single family if they decide to rent the first one out? Do they need a "good" reason or or is it really not worried about because the terms of the first mortgage are met as written?

Ok, so here is the order of events:

Before the end of last tax year, made a 5.5k after-tax contribution to an IRA. Did not file for the deduction on that money.

Withdrew the 5.5k from the IRA to help with closing on first house.

Just rolled over pre-tax money from an employer plan to that IRA

Want to take out more, up to the 10k allowed, to go toward closing. 

Couple questions:

-Do I still need to file for that deduction on that original contribution? My guess is that I do, so that they'll refund me back the deduction for the 5.5k, but they'll tax it back on the withdrawl, to break even.

-If that is the case, how much of the pre-tax money can I withdraw? 

Can I take out 4.5k pre-tax (~3800 after tax)?  

Can I take out 4.5 after-tax (~5600 pre-tax)?

In other words, how far into the 10k allowed am I at right now after taking out 5.5 after tax?

I'm working on closing on a duplex as a first time real estate investment, I also work full time. I'm going to want to minimize contact points as much as I can while not hiring a dedicated property manager. How do I go about looking for a plumber, electrician, etc. who will make emergency calls in the middle of the night? Do I simply call these people and explain what I'm looking for? Who should I be looking for and what can I be able to expect of them? 

If I broke my lease by doing the repairs myself, can he come after me for any money? Or would he only be able to evict me? As a tenant, if I lose either one of those potential legal battles, do I stand to pay anything over the original repair costs? I believe he'd be able to hit me for repair costs and legal fees, correct?

I'm extra interested in this because I'm about to become a landlord myself. 

but he wouldn't bother trying to evict me if I broke yhe lease at this point..

the lease forbids me from doing repairs