All Forum Posts by: James Campbell

Thank you for the response Caroline! So my grandfather is right.. He does not live there so its capital gains tax he's worried about. I haven't considered these other option. I believe he does his own taxes but I'll do some more research. Thanks again!!

Hello all, I'm buying a rental property that I'm going to move into from my grandfather at a discount. When I told my lender he suggested I use a "gift of equity" as the down payment and that way I wouldn't have to come up with anything down (if the property appraised). For example: if my grandfather wants $200k for the property and it appraises at $250k then the gift of equity = $50k which would act as my 20% down payment. This is how he explained it to me. However, now with $50k gift of equity + $200k to my grandfather, he noticed that the purchase price increased from the agreed upon $200k to $250k and my grandfather is afraid he will have to pay more taxes due to a higher purchase price. Does anyone know if he is correct? I asked my lender and he said nobody has ever asked that question. Thank you.

@Kyle Funnell You're right I'm thinking buy and hold. I wasn't aware that some have rental restrictions like that which could seriously cut into any profit so thanks for the heads up. Maybe fix and flip would be a better strategy depending on the rules of the development, thanks for the input!

@Kevin Kohler Thanks Kevin, I'll reach out to discuss further.

@Steve Morris Right? it seems like it makes sense but I'd really like to talk to someone who's done it before to hear about their experience.

@Brian Garrett thanks for the feedback Brian! Thought I could be onto something but of course there aren't any real "deals" on the MLS.

While looking for properties around West Palm Beach, Florida I'm finding that some of the best deals are in 55+ communities. At first I ignored these listings thinking I'm not 55 so I can't buy them, but then I looked into it and I believe most of these communities just require the person living there to be 55+. So would you consider investing in a 55+ community or does anyone have any experience doing this? A few of my initial thoughts are:

1. Probably less wear and tear on properties.

2. Higher risk of injuries on property.

2. Limited tenant pool.

3. Lots of retirees in FL so possibly more possibly tenants.

Any insight and feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

@Stephen VanMeter thanks for the feedback! I know the numbers are right it just seems too easy! I saw these units were selling even cheaper but 3 years ago but with the low interest rates I think it’s still a good buy. 

Hey guys, 

I looked at this unit today and I was surprised how clean it was for the price. This is the cheapest unit for sale in the area I'm looking at. New paint and carpets, I would probably just do a few cosmetic changes on my own before renting but how do my numbers look? Would it really cashflow this much? A couple notes about expenses:

1. heat and hot water are included in HOA fees and would just have tenant pay for electric.

2. 5% each for vacancy, repairs and cap ex because it's a small condo and not much to repair and everything outside is part of the HOA.

Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!!

View report

*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

@Jacqueline M Will I can see how being on the buying end it would seem crazy but even with an inspection on a home the buyer is responsible (at least where I live). It's considered due diligence on the buyers part and one shouldn't assume everything for sale is as it seems and priced fairly.

@Zack Howard I agree with you about going for the higher return here but just to be the “devils advocate” in your example you could say he has a guaranteed 5% return that takes about 2 minutes to set up recurring payments then he’s done.. or he could go for a larger return, higher risk and infinitely more work buying real estate. I’d still choose real estate.

That's all great advice that @Account Closed mentioned; think of your audience. Who's your ideal tenant? Will you be looking for long term families (focus on crime and schools), student rentals (close to universities), travel nurses (close to hospitals), vacationers (close to travel destinations), etc. I found some great videos on Youtube that show you exactly what to look for and how to use the DealMachine app to start mailer campaigns once you find them.