All Forum Posts by: Jassen Bowman

@Jennifer White

I wish I had known that VA and FHA would have let me buy my duplex (first deal) much sooner after my bankruptcy than I actually did do so.

@Dane Larsen

As others mentioned, there may be local requirements. I’m required to pay Bremerton there $75 a year for a “landlord license”.

@Travis Gibson

Why do you want to jump to MF? Is this your career, or do you have a day job? Do you have the skills and experience to do your own syndicate?

A million more questions could be asked. Don't jump to MF just because it's trendy. Plenty of money can be made in SFR-land.

@Justin Reyes Absolutely not. As already mentioned, it’s not worth the tax hit, nor is it worth the long-term hit to your retirement nest egg.

Just go buy a house 0-5% down, get a roommate or two, live in it for one year, then convert it to a rental and buy another house and repeat.

This is Nomad + house hacking. One of the absolute best mathematical models for building wealth.

Here's what you fail to understand: Under federal law, the income belongs to you. There is zero ambiguity about this. Your exact scenario has been adjudicated in federal courts before, and the people in your position lost.

And no, I'm not going to dig up the court cases for you. I charge $540 per hour for that.

As several of my accounting colleagues have already stated, I'm not going to go in circles with you on this. You posted to the community asking for advice, and you've been given that advice. What you do (or don't do) with it is entirely up to you.

There is actually zero legal ambiguity here: You are collecting the rent, the income belongs to you, and you MUST report it and pay taxes on it.

Failure to report income is tax evasion. While not often criminally prosecuted, the administrative penalties assessed for what you’re doing are massive.

I would highly encourage you to immediately amend your recent tax returns to report the income, then do what is necessary to resolve the outstanding tax liability.

I’m an IRS-licensed Enrolled Agent and tax liability issues of this nature are my sole area of specialization.

Let's get together to learn about the single most amazing real estate investing model that has ever existed. Why is it so amazing? Basically, it's about the MATH. We will discuss the math behind this investing model, how it works, and how you can take advantage of it.

We will walk through the Nomad investing model, and compare it to more traditional real estate strategies so you can decide for yourself whether you like the idea or not.

Are you a real estate agent? Lender? Title rep? You're welcome to attend, also! Nomad™ investors are able to purchase homes far more frequently than your typical client, so they make great clients for you! Come learn how you can grow your business by working with this unique breed of real estate investor.

Please RSVP here:
https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Nomads/events/247671190/

You are actually in the perfect position to start implementing the Nomad model (what I’m used to calling the version of house hacking that I do).

The reason you’re in a good position is because you already have one house, and you bought it a year ago.

In Nomad, you buy another house for your family, move in, and convert current house to a rental. Repeat every 12 months.

Your spouse obviously has to be on board with moving so much, but if you run the numbers on this strategy, it’s amazing. You can buy houses perpetually at 5% down, with owner occupied interest rates, and no conventional loan limit (10 loan limit doesn’t apply if you are going to live in the house).

Hi James,

Borrowers are generally limited to having only one FHA loan at a time. If you have to move more than 100 miles away for job change or some other extenuating circumstance, you can get another FHA loan, maybe. But generally, limit one per customer, period.

On the Fannie/Freddie side, 5% loans are only available for SFRs. 2-4 units require an investor loan, even if owner occ one unit, so down payment minimum is 15%.

The only way to do another low/no down 2-4 unit in your area would be to use a VA loan if you're eligible.

If you can only do 5% down, buy an SFR.

My first property was a duplex, zero down, VA. Second was another VA, but SFR. Third was 5% conventional, fourth is 10% conventional. All owner occupied. I'm "saving" my one and only FHA loan spot for the perfect 4-plex.

There are very few financial planners that know anything about real estate investing. I've been told by  financial planner that, during the 200-hour CFP training program, there is literally only about 30-45 minutes about real estate.

There most certainly is a market for financial planners that incorporate real estate analysis. That's the whole point behind the Real Estate Financial Planner software.

On the tax side, you also need to find a CPA or EA that is versed in real estate matters. Most are not.

Interview all such advisors in order to determine their level of proficiency with real estate as an asset class and as a tax issue.