All Forum Posts by: Lisa Troxel

I looked at the process for my four plex. I declined due to the added expenses being almost the same as the tax credit (I needed to also get the property registered) and some of the restrictions on the improvements would have kept the house dysfunctional. You can't move doors or walls and the 8 x 10 kitchen had 4 doors and 2 windows that were close to the floor. 

Down the road when you have enough in the account to buy a rental, look at rolling it into a self directed IRA and then buy an investment property. You are using pretax money for the purchase and any proceeds stay in your IRA. When you pulll the proceeds out, you will be taxed under the current IRA rules.

We started at 32 when we built a new house and kept the old one as a rental. It didn't have enough equity to make selling worth it and back then the rents to sales price ration was much sweeter in my area than it is now. Flash forward 29 years and we have 10 doors with a mixture of newer, much older, multi family, single family and commercial and a mixture of property managers and self management. We only buy properties where we would want to live (we had a business in the commercial also).

@Mike Cumbie That's a great idea. I will run that by the Fair Housing people. Thanks!

@Matt M. I agree but I am talking about a companion animal which they have labeled a tool, not a pet. 

@Bjorn Ahlblad who is your insurance company? I have already talked to mine and they said no way, no how, no coverage on a list of dogs that includes any kind of pit bull but not chihuahua. The exemption isn't for damage, it is for "bodily injury." @Matt Ziegler The companion animal test is so low that a note from the mailman will work and the Fair Housing Agency in my state has expressed their determination to defend it legally. Thanks both of you for your input.

Just got my renewal policy in which the company reiterated that they will not cover damages from dogs on their exclusion list (dangerous breeds). The property is in Idaho where pitbulls are everywhere. The insurance company says make sure your tenants have insurance but that won't stop me from being sued also. My umbrella insurance will not cover me either if my basic policy does not.The fair housing agency has said get another insurance company and the only one that I have found so far is much more expensive. How are you all dealing with this issue? Any insurance companies that you would like to recommend?

I think the big question is what will laundry add to the desirability of the units? Having to drag their laundry to an offsite location must be keeping the rents lower and reducing its ability to attract better tenants.

@Matthew G. Hi Matthew, What do you mean keep an eye out for taxes? The taxes should be part of the analysis wherever someone buys. 

@Mike C. I have been looking at Caldwell. Prices are pretty sweet but the taxes are high. I think the prices make up for the taxes though. Caldwell and Nampa have 2 excellent universities but the county seems to have problems with crime. @Jonna Weber is a great resource for essential information. Check out Coeur d'Alene, we are closer and our prices are no way near as high as Seattle's. In fact, we are getting a lot of new residences who are escaping the traffic in Seattle. 

Where is the form file? They were available a couple of months ago but now have disappeared. I have always considered the forms file to be a large part of why I support BiggerPockets with a paid membership.