All Forum Posts by: David Cornett

Hello,

I bought a property in 2017, which is 'grandfathered' in to the limit on interest deduction.  If I buy an investment property this year, how does the limit actually work.  For example, if I have $500K in debt from purchases prior to 2018, can I only add a further $250K in 2019 without hitting the limit?  Or are basically all of my real estate purchases grandfathered in to the $1M debt limit?

Thanks!

Thanks, Greg. This helps. I'll make sure the inspector thoroughly checks for moisture.

Hello all,

Not sure if this is the right subforum, but I'm looking at buying a townhome that has a finished basement with an unfinished utility room.  Not under contract yet, and this is the only thing seriously giving me pause.  When the utility door is open, you can get a whiff of a musty odor outside of the utility room, and the smell is stronger (but not over-powering) inside.

I've thought it normal for basements to smell a little musty, and most people that I've talked to about this feel the same.  Looking online, it seems that the smell only comes from mold or mildew.  How concerned should I be? Would you feel confident having a home inspector using a moisture meter and looking for signs of leakage?

After some more research, this doesn't look like a DIY project at all! My apologies.  I still hope to hear if this is feasible to do with a contractor, but will delete if this is the wrong forum.

Hello all,

I'm thinking about purchasing a townhome as a primary residence and potentially renting out in 2-3 years.   One thing I would like to do is extend the deck, as it's very small currently.  Serious deck envy of the other homes on the row.

Is this even feasible as DIY?  Any idea of the rough cost?

HEre's the property:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Oakton/9986-Capperton-Dr-22124/home/9525103

Thanks so much!

Hey Chris,

These days I'm a Maryland local, but I'm a USC grad (2010). I'm also looking to make my first purchase in 2017, and looking for SFR or duplex properties that cash flow. Not sure if you ever linked up with anyone around here, but let me know if you want to talk/compare notes. I'll be in town Aug 19-21, but networking online and analyzing deals in the meantime.

I live (rent) in a very expensive housing market and will likely continue to rent in the near future as it allows me to live within walking distance of work.  However, I'm looking to buy a rental property and am especially interested in a few strategies:

-Marketing to tax delinquent owners both in the immediate DC area and small towns (population ~30,000) an hour or 2 from DC

-Marketing to absentee owners in the smaller towns

-Tax lien certificates (option in Maryland close to DC)

-Tax deed auctions (option in Northern Virginia, but likely HIGHLY competitive bidding)

-Purchase bank REOs

I've been learning about these as much as I can. Part of the problem is that I'd love to be able to buy in the immediate DC metro area.  And I think that it is possible that some of the more creative strategies could yield something that cash flows...(at least 1% rule, although I analyze each deal thoroughly).  But it would have to be a really distressed sale. 

So, I know enough that trying too much is likely to fail.  But if I need to simplify, should I eliminate some strategies (or try them one at a time) or geography?  For example, I could focus on 3 of those strategies in 1 of the smaller towns.

Thanks in advance!

Hey,

So I'm looking at a 2BR/1BA in a small town in Virginia. It's currently listed at $60K on Zillow and is a HUD property that's gone into the extended period. I notice on the price history that it was listed for $39K in April before being removed at the end of June...only to reemerge with a 50% price increase!

Am I missing something here? I assume sometimes sellers change agents who might have a different pricing strategy, and in this case maybe HUD thinks it will get lucky. How common is this? Note that I'm wary of just offering the original price because (1) it might be what the seller wanted all along and they used the new price for psychological benefit and (2) it looks like it needs some work.

Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions! I also found the Android app My Tracks which lets you track your route and add notes about locations. 

Hey all,

I wasn't sure where to put this. I plan to go driving for dollars for the first time in a small town an hour out of DC this weekend.  Are there any mapping tools you use to track which streets you've gone down and where the promising spots are?  I'm sure I could make some kind of custom Google Maps later but wanted to see if there are any good ideas first.

Any other tool/technique suggestions are appreciated as well!

Thanks!