All Forum Posts by: Jack Halldin

My biggest surprise was for passive investors the ability to take depreciation is eliminated (although carried forward) for incomes over $150k. I own places in Florida, property taxes are high and insurance is expensive (relatively). If I had it to do over I would have spent time with CPA in advance of any deals.

Depending on the age of the house cap ex will hurt you over time, AC, furnace, roof, appliances, you get the idea. If you can't afford to write those checks, sell. Similarly I ended up renting a marginally negative cash flow property including cap ex. that most folks on BP would hate but factoring in that the tenant is paying off my mortgage $250 every month I have kept it. I have similar situation as you, multi-year tenants I never hear from that keep the place in great shape and pay rent early every month. It is tough to sell when that is your setup. Although I have already decided first whiff of losing my tenant and I hit the sell button. 5 years from now hopefully you have another $15-20k in equity, some appreciation and the same tenants paying $1500 a month.

I don't know that I would be too worried about either, according to a recent survey in BP most smaller investors held property in their own name. With adequate liability insurance and assuming no willful negligence at your properties I think $3m should cover almost anything out there. Insurance companies don't sell that much coverage for as little as they do if there were many times it was utilized to the max. Over most recent history the balloon would not have been an issue getting refinanced, worse case if things are looking or trending poorly in financial markets you can refinance early.

Agree with earlier comments, home insurance looks low to me but might be appropriate for your area, get an umbrella liability policy at least $2m another expense I see overlooked a lot is what I call structural, roofs, concrete, foundation, siding or exterior painting are all things that need to be done from time to time and you could be buying right at the point where those are bills coming do. Also I know it is wasted money but if not in a flood plain still buy flood insurance. You don't have to live near water to get flooded and homeowners insurance doesn't cover it.

Have a small 644 sq ft condo that has always rented to 1 person. Now my tenant emails me and says fiancé is moving in with her. She has been good tenant, 1+ year, no problems pays rent on time so I'm going to update lease but curious if people have raised rent in these type of situations? It will definitely be twice wear and tear on the place, or do I just deal with it when they leave with security deposit? Also in this situation do I do normal background and credit checks? Thought was originally yes but if I come up with anything bad and I say he doesn't qualify most likely I lose my good tenant. Anyone with similar experience? Would love any insight. Thanks. Jack

Definitely would sell, add in the potential for vacancy, bad tenants, major repairs and that small negative cash flow gets big, just no buffer for long distance problems unless you have a good size cash reserve. You are young, I would just start over with same plan in NC, you VA loan again and hopefully are in a better position next time you move to keep the NC property. Thank you for your service.

JT, I bought 3 condos in Bonita Springs in 2014/15 and know a lot about many of the developments down there, having looked at dozens of places, I'd be happy to share my thoughts, send me an email if interested. One realtor I really liked was Cathi Bruce, she knows Bonita well and helped me sell one of my condos last year fairly quickly for a great price. Bonita has appreciated a bit since I bought but I think prices are still reasonable.

Jack

Looking at buying a new home in Longmont Co and wondering if any agents have experience in dealing with Lennar.

ok some more info, I paid $75k, development is actually really nice, recent sales of similar units have been low $100's. HOA finances are actually great too, no increase in HOA fees in 2017, no specials and property manager says no increase for 2018. I'm getting $975 a month from a great long term tenant so cash flow is great and I don't really want to sell but I'm looking to buy my own home in Colorado and need to bring more cash to the table. Selling may be my best option. Thanks for responses.

Paid cash for condo in SW Florida. 1/1 approx value $100k. 80% investor owned. Have been getting run around on 2 fronts, size of cash out and investor owned percentage. Live in Colorado so not many local contacts. Anyone have an institution they have had success with in similar situation? Thanks for any assistance.