All Forum Posts by: James R. Copeland

Thanks for the replies y'all! I'm leaning towards trying to get into a 3-4 unit on an FHA loan in hopes of bringing the down payment way down and having the rental income cover the majority of that ungodly mortgage the place is sure to have. Already pre-approved with a lender and starting to glance at home buying sites here and there (Does Zillow not have a multi-unit filter?). We're still a few months out but I just can't resist the possibility of house-hacking a multi-unit that has the California appreciation potential, both in value and in rents.

If finding a multi-unit proves to be impossible though, we may just end up renting and buying more stuff in Indy. Time will tell. Thanks again for all the input :)

Hi there! So I recently got word that my wife and our soon-to-be-newborn will be heading to Oxnard, CA this coming Summer, and will be living there for the next few years. I own a few properties now (3 doors currently) and was torn between 2 strategies. I was considering just renting in California and buying more rentals in Indianapolis, or using the housing money I'll get every month to buy a 3 or 4 plex and living in one of the units, then renting out ours when we move away down the road (or selling if that makes more sense). 

Any tips or investors with experience in the areas west of LA? Also any experience with Camarillo, Ventura or any of the surrounding area would be appreciated as I don't necessarily need to live in Oxnard, just within commuting distance. 

@Mark Bookhagen SFH, one unit

A couple questions for whoever has answers: 1. Do the county loan limits go up annual, effective Jan 1? 2. If I was thinking of refinancing to pull cash out to the county limit, would it be better to do it soon, since rates are still relatively low, or wait until the new county limit takes effect, whenever that is? Numbers: Current loan has $2500 per month including $200 PMI (Yucky) Current loan balance <400k Property value estimate: ~580k

So there is an opportunity for me to move to the Netherlands (Specifically Schinnen) for 3 years for work. I read online that an American can buy property there. I was toying with the idea of taking the transfer, buying a house (or multi?), and then renting it out when I move back to the States. Thoughts?

Thank you! That helps, makes sense now.

Hey there, just a theoretical question: Borrowing money via a loan or cash out refi isn't taxed as income since it's borrowed. If you were to sell a rental house without a 1031 exchange, I *believe* the portion that you have to pay capital gains tax on is the sale price minus the amount owed, right? So if somebody owned a 1 Million dollar rental property and sold it outright, they'd pay cap gains on $1M. If, on the other hand, they did a cash out refi to take it to 80% LTV, aka borrowed 800k against it, then sold it, wouldn't they only owe cap gains on the 200k remainder? I'm assuming one of my assumptions is incorrect. Can somebody clear this up for me?

Wholesaler most likely!

Good Day!

   We're currently shopping for a cash buy in Indianapolis and have narrowed down 2 duplexes that we're going to try to look at this weekend or in the afternoons next week. So 2 questions for BP members in the Indy area:

1. Does anyone here have a preferred contractor in Indianapolis

2. Alternatively, are there any investor-friendly contractors here that would be able to visit a couple properties to give renovation quotes this weekend or next week?

Any help or info would be greatly appreciated!

-Jim

We have some leads coming from a wholesaler but none of us have purchased non-MLS houses before, kind of jumping in blind. Before we make a cash offer, we wanted to study up and find out how buying from a wholesaler differs from buying through an agent. Do we still need a buyer's agent? Also, can we still do an inspection before sealing the deal usually?