All Forum Posts by: Danny McGreevy

My thinking would be this person would also be the person ultimately helping me with my taxes in NH/MA outside real estate too. I don't want to have multiple CPA's. But I do want one that specializes in real estate, STR tax loophole.

Hi BP community!

I live in NH and I am moving to MA. I want to turn my NH apartment, which is one unit of a 4-unit multi-family that I own, into a STR. My W2 income tax was very high last year, and I want to better understand how I can use this tax loophole to offset my W2 taxes.

Are there any local CPA’s well versed in this that would like to connect?


Any general advice is also welcomed!

First of all to all the advice... I super appreciate what everyone has said so far!

Hi Tom!  I do plan for my next purchase to be a house hack, but fortunately I've already earmarked that reserves.

The payback period would be about 5 years on the additional 5% with the additional cash flow.  In other words, I am putting about $50k more cash into the property for 5% extra equity and will be generating about $750/month additional.  

So, roughly 17.5% annual ROI is my calculation.

Send me a message and we could link up and talk shop in Portsmouth sometime soon!

I have an investment property currently with 20% equity, which I am owner-occupying in Portsmouth, NH.  I am reaching the point that I will be moving to a new property which I have saved up enough cash for.  I am still in the search phase there.

In my current 4-unit building, I have a 7.3% rate and this is going to be the final opportunity I have to refi w/ an owner-occupied rate since I plan on purchasing a new property soon to live in.  The Mortgage broker advised me that if I put in an additional 5% (25% total) I will be able to get the rate down to 6.3%

Doing the math, if I've done it correctly, seems to indicate that the additional 5% added to the equity would generate a 17.5% return on the additional cash flow of the property.  Again... If my math is correct.

My issue is that I often read that BP community many times finds it better to keep low equity in investment properties to keep cash free to purchase additional rental properties.

What are my biggest considerations when making a decision here?  Am I missing anything?

One more thought - generally speaking, is a 36-inch shower big enough for most renters?  Or has anyone ever found this to be a problem?

Very thoughtful response, @Cathy B.!  Thank you.

It was quoted to me to switch the plumbing for $1k for reference.

Interesting thoughts on not wanting a toilet to be the first thing you see with an open door, but I see what you mean.

The 60 inch wide shower would be moving the shower width more into the space where the toilet is currently set.

Do you see any issues for a studio apartment having a 36 inch shower?  I don't think it's ideal, and stepping inside it feels small, but not quite a "coffin shower"

I bought a 4-unit and I am renovating one of the bathrooms that was dated and had a tub with a concerning patched hole in it.  So, I’m using this as an opportunity to do a full bathroom reno since the building is in a nice area and I want to attract good tenants.

The unit is a studio with seperate ear-in kitchen, so will most likely be a single tenant.

My mistake was that I intended to get a 60 inch shower installed, and a 36 inch wide shower was installed.

Here is a video of the setup with the 36 inch wide shower where you can see the current situation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DpsdpkQ8necpy84q0-u_fp85htr...

I see my options as:
1) keeping the shower as is and saying it’s good enough for the rental

2) getting a plumber to switch shower and toilet drains and build larger tiled shower in shower space 

3) moving wall back and plumbing back and putting 60 inch wide shower base as originally intended

Open to hearing opinions and reasons!

Thank you @Todd Rasmussen this seems to be my ultimate conclusion

@Henry Clark hopefully my response in the answer above helps with more clarity of the basic principal I’m seeking to understand

@Jonathan R McLaughlin - I realize this, but I want to understand some basic principals.  Can you see my response above and give me your thoughts?