All Forum Posts by: Chris Potter

@Derek Smart, it's in between my deals that I start to consider looking out of state and Washington has a lot of attractive things about it.   Utah is just so hot right now that it makes it a little more difficult to get a deal.  I feel like RE is a very trendy thing in Utah, however, I would love to continue to pursue deals in Utah.  I have 3 deals going right now but I close on a couple of them in the next couple of weeks so I'm always on the prowl.  Do you ever come across deals that you lack funding on or on which you would like a partner with 13+ years experience?  I think I will send out a flair on the forum for wholesalers/agents/flippers in Utah looking for funds/jv/partner of some sort.  

@Tanner Christensen and @Trevor Carver, regarding long-term capital gains taxes (gains on properties that have been held at least 12 months), there are 3 different tax rates for long-term capital gains depending on how much ordinary income you show.  Yea taxes are not simple on any level.  Here is a good links that explains it:

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409.html

The tax rate on most net capital gain is no higher than 15% for most taxpayers. Some or all net capital gain may be taxed at 0% if you're in the 10% or 15% ordinary income tax brackets. However, a 20% tax rate on net capital gain applies to the extent that a taxpayer's taxable income exceeds the thresholds set for the 39.6% ordinary tax rate ($415,050 for single; $466,950 for married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er); $441,000 for head of household, and $233,475 for married filing separately).

There are a few other exceptions where capital gains may be taxed at rates greater than 15%:

1. The taxable part of a gain from selling section 1202 qualified small business stock is taxed at a maximum 28% rate.
2. Net capital gains from selling collectibles (such as coins or art) are taxed at a maximum 28% rate.
3. The portion of any unrecaptured section 1250 gain from selling section 1250 real property is taxed at a maximum 25% rate.

As you can see, most people are taxed at 15% on long-term gains.  I had a situation on my '15 taxes where I had some roll-over passive losses from rental properties that had been accruing for years and my CPA could finally apply them when I sold some rental properties.  It ended up being close to $100k in losses which could be written off.  That put my ordinary income so low that he was able to tax my long term gain income at the 0% rate, and I had quite a bit in long-term gain income.  I basically won the IRS lottery that year.  I wasn't so lucky last year...

@Josh E., man doesn't that make you sick!  It's so hard to know if you should just grab as much as you can or if the market is about to tip!!  I remember 12-15 years ago Utah's market really wasn't that awesome and hadn't been for quite a few years.  It is amazing what is going on now and hard to know if this will continue with all of the growth coming from out of state.  Too bad you missed that one, it sounded like a good one

@Katie Stone, vacation rentals (legal ones) have gone up considerably in value.  We just listed a coral ridge townhome for $400k.  At one point they were selling for $225-$250k.  I think it's a great way to break even on a property and be able to use it quite a bit throughout the year but that's the only way I think it makes sense, if you use it more than a week or two during the year.  Let me know when you are ready to buy and we would be happy to help you out

@Josh E., just curious whatever happened with your duplex deal.  Were you able to cut the lot in half and did you purchase the property?

@Jihyoung Kim, I am both an investor and RE agent in St George and would be happy to help you in anyway I can.

@Stratton B Brown, not sure if you're still looking for a realtor in St George that works with investors but I am both a realtor and investor and would be happy to help you out.

@Tony Wooldridge, I went to Walla Walla about 10 years ago to visit my wife's grandparents.  Her grandpa is Bill Reitz and her uncle is Doug Reitz he is a dentist in town.  Very nice, quaint town.  Seems like a place to live but also seems like it would be challenging to invest in.  Have you been able to flip a few deals this year?  How have you found your deals to purchase lately?  Good luck

@Brody Jett, that would be great to keep in touch and see if anything comes up. I primarily buy from the courthouse but occasionally I will buy from a pocket deal or from MLS. I have 2 flips going right now and just made an offer on a pocket listing that hopefully I can pick up. There are pros and cons to different areas/states especially at the auctions. The nice thing about Utah is the 24+ hrs to wire funds after the sale instead of having to show up with 100% cash (I believe that's the way it is in Washington). I like the idea of Spokane because there is less population so less investors fighting over a bone, less traffic, and geographically smaller so easier to drive around and look at potential homes. This is similar to where I live. Also, where I live the median price of homes is in the mid-$200ks and from what I have seen in many parts of Washington it appears to be very similar unlike other states such as CA. I'm sure that's not the case in the Seattle area but possibly other areas. It seems to me that washington has had more foreclosures lately and many that sell at the courthouse. This is either because there is more opportunity there or because people are paying retail so anything that is up to retail sells. I would love to hear about some of the deals you have done lately. I need to really dissect the numbers to know for sure.

@Dan G., 

I totally get it.  I'm sure most parts of the country are in the same boat right now where investors are hungrier than ever since there are few deals so many are fighting over a bone.  Also, just like we saw in 2007, many wanna-be's and regular people want to be investors and/or flip homes so they pay way too much and limit the opportunities for everyone.  On top of that you get the end users that are going to live in the home and there's no way an investor can compete with that.  I have been looking into doing some of my own marketing like you mentioned.  It seems like there's a much better chance to snag a deal without a ton of investors competing.