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All Forum Posts by: Jamie H.

Jamie H. has started 3 posts and replied 10 times.

Post: Creative Financing Question

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

@Albert Bui Thanks! These are all things I’ve thought about.

Post: Creative Financing Question

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

I am early in my REI journey, doing a lot of listening and learning, but haven't yet put together a deal. I have a SF rental home which I used to live in; next door to it is a property with a very small (650 sq ft/1 bedroom and 1 bath) house and a large open yard. The yard is on the side of the property against my house's property line, therefore, the light and open space for the entire side of my house is possible because of that open space. I have always looked across that fence-line and longed to own the property next door as well (apparently the story goes that the owners of my house built the little house next door for their daughter, then sold off the land/house at some point along the way) so that I could control any possible design/build on the next door property in a way that would maintain value for both properties. If a builder buys who doesn't care about this, they will probably go right up to the fence-line really limiting light and changing the entire feel of my property.

So, here's the kicker - the little property next door was just listed for sale with a review date of Tuesday. I do not have enough cash to make an all cash offer, and don't believe that we would qualify for traditional financing (though will look into whether we might if we apply in my husband's name alone). Either way, Tuesday is soon and I'm not sure a traditional offer will come together quickly enough. I'd love ideas of how I might approach this (I do have the seller's contact info but when I reached out to just let him know that I was interested without any additional details, he sent me directly to his agent)...

I'm open to all opinions about the situation, how to assess whether this is worth doing, and if so, how you might approach financing.

Post: Do I need a CPA or Attorney?

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

I need some tax advice and also anticipate seeking to open a solo 401k as a result of receiving said advice.

Can a CPA be a one-stop shop for this or do I need an attorney as well? What kind of professional services/advisors should I be turning to for help with this all?

I’m in Seattle and welcome references.

Post: How to maximize retirement savings

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

@George Blower

Thanks! My employer doesn’t match my contributions so that isn’t an issue. Neither my husband or I are 50 y.o. yet so we aren’t eligible for catch-up contributions.

I contribute to a Roth account through my employer-sponsored program AND we both have a separate Roth as well. We are at risk of not being able to fund our Roth accounts based on our income if we don’t lower our taxable income, which is part of the logic for this all!

Post: How to maximize retirement savings

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

@Dave Spooner

Yes! I absolutely get that. My husband pays into a pension plan through his employer and we save (small amounts, generally) into his Roth. I save about 50/50 pre-tax IRA vs Roth. This consulting contract is pushing us into a pretty high bracket (not the highest but...) and therefore the entire amount will be taxed at that rate which is when I thought - "this doesn't seem to make sense...I wonder how much of it we can save pre-tax to keep our income taxed at that level down (or eliminate it). When I started doing research, it wasn't totally clear to me what those limits were (especially if we are contributing to various accounts through both W-2 and LLC earnings).

Post: How to maximize retirement savings

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

@Greg O'Brien

Sorry - to be clear, you are saying “now we should invest more fully in getting some help around tax planning”? We have had an accountant doing our taxes for several years, but I’m not sure he is the right person as our circumstances continue to get more complex. Do you have advice about what to look for/how to find the right person?

Post: How to maximize retirement savings

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

@Todd Goedeke

Thank you! This is what I thought...but I wanted to check. I really appreciate it.

Post: How to maximize retirement savings

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

@Bjorn Ahlblad

We actually are in the market for a new accountant (ours retired and we don’t love the person he has transitioned clients to). We are in Seattle...you aren’t too far away! Do you have someone to recommend?

Post: How to maximize retirement savings

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

@Greg Scott

We are just beginning our real estate investing journey...we have one SF rental, and are interested to get a multi family next. We are in a very expensive market though so I have more research and learning to do before we are ready to put a REI strategy together...

Post: How to maximize retirement savings

Jamie H.Posted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 0

My husband and I are hoping to maximize our retirement savings this year and need some strategy help.

I currently have a 403b through work. There is no match from the company. I currently fund it myself at a total of just about 10% of my earnings annually (80% pretax and 20% post tax).

My husband has a pension plan at work which he makes mandatory 8% contributions to.

He just started a consulting business and we created a single member LLC. I am serving as Business Manager (so to speak). His current contract is large enough so that the funds will push our total earnings into a higher tax bracket than we've been in the past. We are hoping to save as much as possible of our total earnings pre-tax. I've looked at opening either a Solo 401k and SEP IRA.

I’ve been in a bit of a rabbit-hole reading about all of this. My questions for you all -

1. What is the overall pre-tax savings limit per person for 2020 and does that apply for all accounts (for example, my 403b AND any Solo 401k contributions for me)?

2. Does my husband’s mandatory pension contribution count towards that?

3. Are there any ways to increase that savings? (For example, if we have a Solo 401k, the company can match our contributions up to 25%...)

Our goal is to reduce our overall taxable earnings, ideally far enough to still be eligible to contribute in full to our Roth IRA's as well.

Thanks for your help!