All Forum Posts by: Jack Forester

Yeah, this probably makes sense to an accountant, but I'd like to just be able to click on the rent due charge and click "Paid Offline".  Then the rent due charge would show as paid and there would be no confusion for the tenant.  Seems like a simple improvement. 

I may have to stick with my current online rent payment provider, until this becomes more intuitive.    

@Katie Harlow, if a tenant hands me payment for rent, how do I mark it as "Paid" in Cozy?  I can see how to add an offline payment, but that doesn't mark the rent for the month as paid. Do I enter an offline payment for rent, then edit that month's rent payment to $0?  Seems like I should have a "Paid Offline" option for that "Monthly Rent Due" charge.

Perfect, thanks!

Thanks, @Brandon Hall, that's what I was thinking I might have to do.  Can I have 2 lease agreements for the 2 bedroom house, or do I need to combine them and put the 2 housemates on the same lease?   My thought about having separate lease agreements (Bedroom A, plus use of common areas, and Bedroom B, plus use of common areas) was to prevent my son from being liable for his housemate's rent.  I know normally that is the reason for a single lease, but in this case that would be counter-productive.

And should I track these 3 buildings as separate properties, so that expenses related to the 1 bedroom unit and the duplex are fully deductible?  To me this makes sense to do, albeit more complicated accounting.

Okay, here's the scenario.  Just bought a 4 unit multifamily property (one tax parcel with 3 buildings).    It's got a 2 bedroom unit, a 1 bedroom unit, and a duplex.  My son (in college) will be living in the 2 bedroom for the next 2 years with a roommate. The roommate is paying rent.   The 1 bedroom is rented and the duplex is fully rented.

1) Does my son living there make it be considered "Owner occupied" for tax purposes? Does it make a difference, if I charge him rent?

2) If this is considered "owner occupied", and I have to do the portion-of-the-whole accounting (approx 20% of the total property would not be deductible), what happens in 2 years when my son moves out, and I fully rent out the 2 bedroom unit?  Obviously, expenses are fully deductible, but what happens with depreciation?  If I'm calculating depreciation, then only claiming 80% for the first 2 years, after that I'd start deducting the full amount, but in 27.5 yrs, I'd still have leftover basis of 20% of the first 2 years depreciation, right?  Is that even a problem?  I guess maybe that's always the case, because if 10 years into owning a property, I put a new roof on, that's depreciated over the next 27.5 years from the date installed.

Assuming I'm correct about #2, then my only question is #1.  Is a family member occupied room considered owner-occupied?  My guess is "yes".

I want alerts for Augusta, but not for users named Augusta.   Can you add an option to exclude usernames from the search?  For example, I get alerts for this thread, because one of the user's last names is Augusta (it's not in the body of the forum):

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/55/topics/313806-newbie-living-in-indianapolis?highlight_post=2030117&page=1#p2030117

Welcome! You will get a little snippet of the thread, with your keyword in bold. 

You can purchase a 2-4 until property using the conventional loan process. I'm closing on one Friday, requires 25% down with interest rate being about a point higher than a primay home loan

Perfect, thanks!  So, if I buy a 100 unit apartment complex in July, after being motivated by @Brandon Turner's Podcasts, I'd need that Fire Marshall inspection, right?

Ah, I was thinking that if bought at auction it's now all the buyer's problem. If the buyer backs out, they lose the earnest money, right?