All Forum Posts by: Linda R.

Scott,
You are right, I did ask an opinion and I certainly can handle the responses. More than one said it wasn't a good idea. It was the manner in which a couple of responses were written that rubbed me the wrong way. I do not appreciate strangers suggesting I am trying to run a scam or am commiting fraud. That borders on libel, and I take that seriously. In order for people to respect one's answers on a forum, the answer to a controversial or any question for that matter, should be worded appropriately so that the advice given is actually considered instead of the person being angered by unnecessary comments. Am I a newbie, heck yes I am. I have been doing this for just over a year and am about to purchase my 12th property, I am by no means an expert but I do have a wealth of information to share. I try to learn something new everyday and from everyone, sometimes it is what to do and sometimes it is what not to do. I believe I will be thinking twice before starting any new threads here for awhile...

Bryan, Tod and Dennis!
I composed a message earlier but must not have hit post as it is not here. Anyway, I wanted to thank you gentlemen for yout input on this topic. Dennis, I especially appreciate the advice you shared, do you know where to find that information specifically? Feel free to private message me if you like. You never know what will set off the wolves!

Linda

Nope, I have never heard of fraud. Come on, really? I asked a question and when I asked a question, I stated that I was pretty confident it couldn't be done but I thought BP would be a good place to ask. I never thought I would be attacked like I have been. Dennis offered some great advice that I am going to folow up on and see if it would work in my case. This is the most expensive property that I have purchased to date and it was a leap for me. I think that it is pretty bold for you to insinuate that I do not run my business on the up and up based on one question. I do not find it necessary to defend myself to you so I will not. I can sleep with myself at night and I know who I am and that what I am doing is legal. I am a person of many questions, asking a legal and/or ethical question does not make me a fraud or unethical person.

I really hope new people are not afraid to ask questions after reading the burning at the stake that I endured as a result of my question.

Your response is not necessary.

Financeexaminer, with the exception of your sarcastic remark, I appreciate the advice to break out any personal property! :-) Unfortunately, there is not enough to make a significant difference in the sale price. I do depriciate appliances, etc, separately.

I understand federal law trumps city, county or state law but what does that have to do with zoning and property taxes? On second thought, you are giving me something to think about though, if the feds say 5 or more units is commercial and anything less is residential, that may give me some ammo to go the appeals board. It won't work on this property but I do own another triplex that is zoned commercial and two sfd's that are also zoned commercial based on their location. At the same time, that also makes it easier if I wanted to rent out the sfd's as commercial properties since they are already zoned that way.

The thing that gave me pause on this whole deal is how much taxes were and the potential for the county to raise my assessment based on the purchase price. The county board of supervisors raised the levy last year and my personal property taxes went up over $600, they was no real explanation as to why they did it, we are not operating at a deficit in my county. That to me is criminal!

Linda

PS There are all sorts of corporate loopholes that people use to shelter themselves from taxes, one that comes to mind, I will admit I do not understand it completely at this point in time, is S corps. Anyway....

I've decided to make it easier for anyone reading this thread to understand that I am simply asking a question to see if they are any loopholes. I acknowledge more than once that there probably are not any but I certainly don't see the harm in asking a question. The majority of us come here to learn and to learn it is important to ask questions.

Linda

I am sure the answer is no but I have to ask.

I guess I already know the answer and the seller would have to be willing to sign a DOV which would not be accurate and that is certainly a legal issue but I am hoping for a loophole.

My question is if I can legally pay some money to the seller outside of closing so the reported sale price that goes to the court house is less.

Thanks for the feedback, I already knew the answer, I was just hoping for a loophole.

I am friends with the lady who checks the houses and she has lowered every single place I have bought. None of them have been this nice though.
I should've added to this post that they were all purchased for less than what they were assessed at and that, plus the condition they were in, is what contributed to my assessment being lowered.

Scott,
Relax! I wasn't implyng she lowered my assessments because we were friends and actually we became friends through our respective positions. She lowered my assessments because they were too high for the crap holes that I have bought and fixed up! The places Max referenced in his post should easily be lowered based on his purchase price as that has been my experience up until this purchase. The market value of a house is what someone is willing to pay for it. This is my first NICE place that I do not need to do a major gut and rehab. I am not willing to risk jail time and I posted that I didn't believe it could/should be done but I was asking anyway, just in case someone knew something I didn't. I never said I was going to do it, I wanted to know if it could be done.

I find it interesting that you thought I would come back and say that wasn't why she lowered my assessment, you sound hostile. Scam? You think I am running a scam? Reread my posts.

I am well known in my town by all of the re agents, the building and zoning people, city administrator, city police, the electrical inspector, many of the lawyers and the folks at the courthouse. My reputation is that I buy properties that others think are awful and I make them nice, very nice actually, I do that by following the rules that are laid out there and they know that as well and that I am a person of my word and that I can be trusted to keep my word. By implying that I am running a scam or using friendships to evade taxes would normally be very offensive, however, you are words on a screen. I know who I am, I am out walking the walk, every day. What have you done lately, besides your flip that has taken a year to complete? Today is day 60 on a house that we completely gutted down to the studs that was full of blow in insulation and plaster and lathe It now has all of the plumbing, hvac and electric roughed in, closed cell insulation on the ceilings and walls and will be completely sheet rocked by the end of the week, the upstairs is and half of the living room are ready to be taped as soon as the rest of the house is done. Oh, it also has all of the replacement windows already installed and the doors. We will be finished by day 90. And I can and do, a lot of the work. So, I will ask again, what have you done lately and also, who do you think you are, to question my integrity? I believe you need to brush up on your reading comprehension skills. And one last thing, why are you hiding behind an avatar? Where is your picture?

Linda

Max,
I am friends with the lady who checks the houses and she has lowered every single place I have bought. None of them have been this nice though. So we will see but I bet you can get yours lowered, do you have an appraisal at that price?

I should clarify as I was replyig from an iPhone, it doesn't matter if you live in town or in the country as far as property taxes go, it is all paid to the county. Thanks for the feedback, I already knew the answer, I was just hoping for a loophole.

In my county anything with 3 units or more is considered commercial. Plus, its within one block of the square so that automatically zones it as commercial regardless if its a sfh or truly commercial. I just got it bought for 93200 so it's mine now assuming it appraises! And I'm paying 1/3 cash and financing the rest.

I understand assessed value does not equal market value. That is one of my mantras actually! My question is if I can legally pay some money to the seller outside of closing so the reported sale price that goes to the court house is less. When they see I paid 94000 for the property, I'm concerned they will raise the assessment which in turn will raise my taxes. The levy rate per $1000 is 37.89 so the annual taxes for this property is over $2600.