All Forum Posts by: John Schnyderite

We are considering investing in a beach property. We love OBX but it is a long drive. After a visit to Bethany Beach, we really like the town and beach. Thinking we could invest in a property, use it a couple weeks per year and rent it to cover our costs - and have a low-property tax home by the beach to use more heavily in retirement.

I know in researching OBX that properties there were hit and miss on making a profit. Wondering if Delaware beaches might be less harsh on houses (maintenance/upkeep), and whether it is easier to profit on a home there. Probably a couple years from making a move, but want to start evaluating whether it might make sense.

Thanks for any input/experience.

I wouldn't say I have a desire to be a landlord.  It would be more like a chore, unless it nets me some good money -- which this seems unlikely unless the property appreciates considerably or I hold it for a long while.

The complex does allow renting, many others do -- and that is where I got figures for how much I'd stand to lose monthly by renting.

I bought a condo for personal residence 5 years ago.  It has dropped in value as most have seen in that time.  My wife and I are now looking to buy a larger home.  We are able to qualify for both mortgages, so we are entertaining renting vs selling.

We currently owe 150K and the last 2 comps in my complex went for 146 and 150K.  While I may break even on what I owe, I have put 13K (though the 7K tax credit helped) into renovations on this condo on top of paying two closings on this condo out of pocket.

Alternatively, I could rent at a $100-125 loss each month. I am 3.5 years from PMI being removed from my mortgage, which would probably put me in the positive if I decided to keep renting. I've never been a landlord before, so I guess my questions are:

1) Is it probable that I recoup the $1500-2000 I take out of pocket each year come tax time, while my principal is paid down?

2) Would the risks of having vacancies and repairs urge you to take a definite but defined loss now vs a possible loss later?

Looking at a second home for investment (and some personal use).

To make sure it'll be a profitable investment, I want get an idea what average vacancy rates in the pocono lakes area is. Does anyone have a home in the area or is there a rule of thumb for calculating this in general?

Any factors I should be thinking about in a first investment home?

There is a property on MLS I have seen which apparently has a trustee handling negotiations. The home needs some work, but we are interested in bidding on it.

In researching this type of sale, I read elsewhere that paying the trustee may come out of the buyers pocket -- does anyone has experience with these types of sales? Is that true and if so, is there a way to calculate their cut so I don't over-bid? Is there anything else to know or look out for?

Thanks!!

This is going to be a long one, so prepare yourself =)

My fiancee and I have been house hunting for a personal residence for a few months now. I own a home since '09 that is underwater (stand to lose 18K or so incl. commissions paid, closing, etc).

We want to upgrade to a larger home and planned on putting 20% down. Although we don't like the idea of taking that big of a hit selling my place, we would only be approved for 300K or so while holding my existing mortgage -- which doesn't buy much in NJ.

We recently found out that my fiancee stands to receive an IRA inheritance from her grandmother who passed. Initially, I thought we would distribute 10K or so a year, since from my understanding this would count as income and put us into a new tax bracket if we were to take a lump sum.

I guess my first question would be about the IRA since I don't know much on the topic. Are there any benefits to taking a lump sum?

2nd question is regarding the downpayment and taxes -- Does putting 40% down ever make sense or it better to put 20% down, take our tax benefits from paying property tax/insurance etc over 30 years, and put the remainder of our money into other investments?

And lastly, are there any tax benefits to selling my current home for a loss? It is currently my primary residence. Would renting for a year or two give us an ability to write off as an investment loss? Any recommendations on what I can do here?

Thanks for any input!

Do short sales see the same type of discount that foreclosures do? I'm looking at a house on the market for 150+ days.

Problem is, I'm not sure how thorough an inspection can be done until I own the home -- I'm sure the bank/listing agent wouldn't appreciate me tearing walls out to see what lies behind.

I can demo the walls myself. At that point, mold wouldn't grow very well on concrete, right? Could I clean myself? If not, any ballpark on max costs of a basement remediation?

Entering basement definitely has an odor. Floors and walls are dry now, but there are signs that at one time, there was 2-4 inches of water in the basement. I don't know when this occurred, but do know the house has been vacant at least 6 months.

What are the chances this place has mold? Would the wood beams be rotted as well or could I just take out the drywall, have it cleaned out, and put new drywall up?

Not sure what to factor for repairing the water issue, mold, and putting walls back up...anyone with similar experience have an idea on cost of such a job? how much would you factor for if you were making an offer on a home with this situation?

I currently own a condo I bought in '09, which is underwater. My fiancee and I are looking at larger homes and are pre-approved and bidding on an REO to make our primary residence.

Other forum members have been kind enough to dispel the possibility of writing this off as a loss if I rent it, so I have 2 possibilities here:

1) sell, and take a loss of $2500-6000 after commissions paid and closing.

2) rent until I'm able to break even, which I would think will be 1-2 years.

Note: In renting, I would lose $175-225 per month, which I'll be able to recoup most if not all at years end with property tax, etc paid. Many of the core components of the home should be no worry -- roof covered by association, furnace/AC replaced in 2011,

--Other Factors --

If I decide to sell now, I can try to sell it while I occupy it and repair the REO with little gap of inoccupacy (double mortgage), whereas if I rent, prospective buyers are subject to the condition that tenants keep the place in OR I will have to wait til tenants are out to sell.

Association fees have gone up basically every year and as we know, taxes never really go down. My cost to own will rise with each year I have it, as will risk that something goes wrong with the place.

My fiancee and I prefer not to be long-term landlords -- especially with negative cash flow. Our new property would tie up most of our time as/is.

Opinions? Ideas? I know real estate values are coming up and this loss could turn into a gain if we have some patience, but we're also afraid of the risks of holding a second property with costs of a wedding and a big down-payment coming up.