All Forum Posts by: Derrick Lumsden

@Angel Moreno, I am not an expert investor. But I do try to master my mindset. Sounds like you are having concerns about the efficiency of the market. And there is some truth to it.

What I am telling myself as I am getting into the market right now is to look for the opportunity. There is always opportunity. Sometimes there is a lot of opportunity, sometimes the opportunities are thinner on the ground. Look for the my opportunity, find my nitch, and focus on my process. Outcomes are the product of a process focused on a nitch. 

@Sam Shueh, thanks for clarifying expcted life. I haven't gotten that far down the rabbit hole to really manage my capex like that yet, but I really want to get there. 

I would love to be able to depreciate it on that basis, but I am hearing I don't have that kind of choice.

@Ashish Acharya, hey thanks for the details. The boiler was less that 10k but about 8% of basis. Is it either/or or is is the determination 10K or 2%, whichever is less?

@Eamonn McElroy thanks. I guess I misunderstood

Hi @Andrew Konopelsky, I had been working toward buy and hold but some life situations have pushed my to pivot. I am doing the ground work toward my first flip next year.

@Eamonn McElroy, thanks for the information. I guess I showed my ignorance here. 

"Finally, will I have a choice between repair or depreciation?" Thanks for correcting me. 

Also, I thought there was some room as to depreciation schedule, but once again looks like I was mistaken. It can only be depreciated at 27.5 years, is that correct?

@Stevie Mobley,

Thanks. I got a deal through owner financing with an off market house. I actually got the property about a year ago, but didn't know about the investment feature of the profile, and this post was sort of created by accident. So I know the maintenance is running at about 8% of income. I had to put in a new HVAC boiler last month, so that was a big expense but I think of that as capital rather than maintenance, but a good chunk of the boiler was paid for by saving the income from the property.

I think it is B- or C+ housing. So it is need of repairs, and am planning for that. I got it with a tenant in place, and the risk has paid off. They have been pretty good tenants so far, and I have been using all the income from the property to set aside for reinvestment to offset my own expenses for repairs.

The main way I was able to get the deal was I knew the guy selling. He was a landlord who at one time had 25 units and tried to sell this on to his grandson, and it didn't work out for him. So I was buying off his grandson and assuming the existing mortgage.

Hello All, I am wondering if anyone would share their opinion or even expertise on depreciation vs repair. I just had an old HVAC boiler replaced for $3900 including labor. I know depreciation would cost out the expense over a number of years. Is there a standard depreciation time frame for this kind of capital improvement? Are there options? Is the depreciation basis the cost of goods, or cost of goods plus installation? Finally, will I have a choice between repair or depreciation? Given my financial position, I suspect it will be most valuable to me to depreciate over 3-7 years rather than through repair. (Don’t worry, I do have a CPA, and I will talk to him about all this. I just searched the forum and couldn’t find a depreciation post that really answered these questions—maybe I am search incompetent—so I thought it could make a good thread.)

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Tarentum.

Purchase price: $47,300
Cash invested: $5,600

It is a small single family 3 bed 1.5 bath home. Sits on a corner lot right across from the elementary school, so the location is great.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Tarentum.

Purchase price: $47,300
Cash invested: $5,600

It is a small single family 3 bed 1.5 bath home. Sits on a corner lot right across from the elementary school, so the location is great.