All Forum Posts by: Frank M.

Does it work both ways? If the purchase price is well below assessment, can one expect the tax bill to drop? I thought towns were on a cycle of reassessing all houses every so many years and a sale only affected an assessment if there was rehab work.

It (the lack of professionalism) surprised me as well. When we put offers in for a client, it's rare that we get a declined offer. The lack of a response is the end of the negotiation.

While taking the classes for my license, I understood that an agent has an obligation to pass on each and every offer to the seller. Even if the offer is well below the asking price, the seller is supposed to be advised of the offer and decline if they wish. To James' point, I don't know if I'd be interested in contacting the board, that's a fast way to make enemies and get 'a name' for one's self. I'd save the board contact for very serious issues.

Is there a question here?

I'm sifting through Publication 527 and I understand that the cost of rehab is all capitalized, even those things that would otherwise be expensed between tenants or during tenancy, such as painting or regular repairs.

Is insurance in the same situation? I paid for insurance, a year in advance, taking effect on the closing date. I'm not clear if this can be expensed, capitalized, or some combination based on the date the house is placed 'in service.'

right, I understand that. I was just suggesting the alternative that actually offers a different tax situation. An LLC or corporation isn't going to save him on his taxes. The IRA is a suggestion for his next deal, and of course, he needs a decent balance to begin with.

Income is offset by all expenses, including interest and property tax, along with depreciation. Gains are delayed until sale of swap via 1031 exchange.

If you want long term tax avoidance, consider a self directed Roth IRA, and it won't be taxed at all.

Not enough details to answer this.

You are saying he's $14K behind, and a remaining $75K mortgage in addition? If you offer less than $89K, the bank needs to agree as that's a short sale.

What kind of rents is he getting? Why is he so far behind?

An offer, with no consideration, no deposit, is not a contract, it's the beginning of a negotiation. The realtor you work with might not be so happy to work with you if you walk away from accepted offers but I don't believe there's any consequence.

On the other hand, if 2 of 2 offers are accepted, you may be bidding too high. My current project was the result of 5 offers, all well below asking. After almost two weeks, one was accepted. The others offered no response at all, leading me to believe I was offering a low enough price.

In my state, the coursework could not be done on line.

Real Estate Express was still recommended for their exam prep which consisted of a series of on line exams to practice. This was the best $69 I have ever spent. The exams offered questions that were likely to be on the actual test and once complete, you'd see what you got wrong along with explanations. After retesting, first the wrong ones only, then the entire exam, time to move on to the next one.

The actual exam was 4 hours, and I walked out after 45 minutes with my license. I've heard people talk about how difficult the exam is. The study prep from RE Express made the test itself feel redundant, like I'd already seen every question.

I thought the pro level gave the ability to search on zip code which gave members the same result as local list.(I'm not pro yet)