All Forum Posts by: Eva Mackowski

Hello fellow investors,

I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage my str business. I own 2 vacation rental properties in TN but live in Texas. I chose not to put the rentals under an LLC, and am planning to run them thru personal income tax return. That said, I am looking into an accountant type person that will handle the str side of things, doing the monthly lodging tax plus do the profit /loss statements and then taking that info and running thru my personal income tax return here in Texas. Do you guys do your own taxes, and how do you manage? Also, is it best to have an accountant from the state you live, or where your investments are from, or does it matter? Does the rental income from my str's count as income tax from TN? not sure how all this is handled... thanks

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Pigeon Forge.

2nd Home vacation rental.. Self managed

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I was in the corporate world for 15 years.. just got tired of the rat race and decided it was time to start investing in real estate and planning our retirement strategy.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found the property thru a realtor friend, and negotiated best price on it. Decided we would try the vacation rental to help offset the cost of owning a second home.

How did you finance this deal?

Financed as a second home.. 10% down, pretty standard.

What was the outcome?

The final outcome is we own the property.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buying in the vacation rental market is very different than buying a primary home. Its much quicker and you have to be ready to move quickly.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes. Avery Carl was the realtor and Parker Borofsky was the financial officer. Both did a great job, and I would highly recommend them. Both are members on Bigger Pockets.

What are your thoughts on just taking a distribution now, paying the tax and using the money to invest, instead of having to  someone to manage the ira/401k for me?  there will be fees involved, and a penalty, I know, however, this is all on the premise that we will pay less taxes later, which is probably not gonna happen.  wouldn't it be better to take the money out now, pay a lower tax on it, rather than wait until I'm "retirement" age and hope the tax will be less when I actually need it?

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking at properties in NC.. Can anyone recommend a good realtor that I can work with in the Franklin & Robbinsville areas?  I will be flying out end of March and would like to look at several properties.  thank you in advance

Thank you for the info!  I left my w-2 job in June of 2018, so I think I should be able to move it to a solo401k or sdira, right?   I just started my investment company, and haven't made any income yet, so would i be able to switch everything over to a solo401k still?

Hello everyone,

I'm looking to move my 401k to a self directed ira to purchase str(vrbo's) and ltr properties.  I'm looking for recommendations from those of you who have done this as to what companies you have tried/and or moved to and why.  Are there some things i need to look out for when looking for a reputable company?  red flags or tips?  My funds are currently with a provider that doesn't allow re investments at all.  Can you let me know the average cost of doing so and what your experience has been.  thanks!

Hi Everyone,

question. We are looking at properties in a state outside of where we live.. we are in Texas, and we are looking at mountain cabins in NC. We are first time investors, so i'm wondering if it would be better to get a commercial loan for a vrbo instead of a personal loan thats going to increase our debt to income ratio, or how would this work? Are commercial loans harder to get for a first time investor and i'm guessing i would have to go to a bank that does commercial loans? Also, I have a Texas LLC already set up and am looking to put the NC property under that, via transfer of deed

Good Morning Everyone,

I live in Texas and am looking at moutain cabins in North Carolina & South Carolina, mainly as a vacation type property, but also turning it into a VRBO. I've looked at the areas I'm interested in and they are VRBO areas. The properties are SFH currently, with acreage.

My question is, since I live in Texas, and I'm interested in buying these properties outside of Texas, and looking to turn them into VRBO's, would I need to set up a business in the state the rental is located in, or can I buy them and place them under my current Texas LLC?

What are the tax implications here, and how best to protect our assets in this case? I want to make sure that the VRBO is under an LLC , but am unfamiliar with how this all would work..

advise please.. thank you!

Thank you.  In researching google voice, you don't get to keep your number if you decide to use another service.  I also see that its not very reliable, but for a free service, it has alot to offer.. is it really free?  there's not a subscription or monthly service attached?

Also, i'm a bit concerned about the app.  i have an old iphone.  not a very new one.. I guess i need to research further and see if the app would work on my phone.

thanks again!

Good Morning Everyone,

I have a couple of questions for you.

First, did you guys go out and get a different number than your personal cell # to conduct your business, ie a local number  or a 1800#?  I was thinking that  i needed to get a different business phone number for privacy concerns, pros & cons of this?  

Second question, what phone service are you using?  I've looked at a few but want to make sure that first, its not super expensive.  looking for something cheap, and second, I want to make sure that I own  it, just in case I move to another service and I already have the phone number on my website, biz cards, etc that the phone number travels with me.

Last question, what website service do you recommend for someone just starting out.  I have go daddy right now, which is about $10/mo.  I've heard of Carrot.. Does anyone recommend that one & why?   What about others?   I would need one that has a good landing page and a way to capture leads when someone visits.

Thanks all!!