All Forum Posts by: Jon Christensen

My parents are both retired. They recently signed a P&S offering cash for the house across the street from my sister with a 3 week closing (fast!). To come up with the cash that quickly they have to pull money out of their tax sheltered retirement accounts. Waiting until their current home sells is not an option.

To limit the tax hit they will take I would like to gift them $30k cash from my savings and $70k cash from my HELOC. When my parents' primary residence sells in the next few months they will return the cash, including any interest from the HELOC.

What are the implications of this transaction for me or my parents? Are there any legal or tax consequences? 

Thanks!

@Alecia Loveless thanks for the advice Alecia!

@Dan Weber thanks for the tips on finding short term rental numbers. Also good info on the LTR demand. If leasing year round is there a preferred month to start a yearly lease cycle?

@Chris Cogan thanks for these numbers Chris!

Anyone have vacation rental experience in Old Orchard Beach, ME? I may be able to buy off market from a family member but I don't know the market and need to do some analysis with real numbers. Purchase price will probably be around $400K. 2 units - both are 2 bed, 1 bath, approx. 1000sqft. 3/4 mile to ocean. 1 mile to the pier. Bottom unit was rehabbed 6 years ago. Top unit rehab will be complete in August. Would love general thoughts as well as some ballpark estimates on what the units could rent for both on a monthly year round lease as well as a weekly seasonal short term rental. I honestly haven't dug into short term airBnB rentals yet so it would be good to get a sense of fees, costs, restrictions, vacancy in Old Orchard. Thanks!

@Kenneth LaVoie Thanks for the input. Very interested in Efficiency Maine and will look into that. Our knowledge is that the previous owner insulated half of the building and then quit (probably ran out of money/effort). The windows are newer Andersons. Vinyl siding so I am guessing a thin layer of foam insulation under that.

@Sean Sullivan and @Michael Webster and @Jim Shiminski Great feedback on rents and costs/heating considerations. Much appreciated. Yes, this is very close to Oxbow brewing . . . that neighborhood. Do you guys have any thoughts on where this neighborhood is heading? Our strategy with the place would be buy and hold for retirement purposes. 

@Jim Shiminski

@William E. Hey, thanks for the link! My initial post may have been confusing. The numbers I am looking for are dollar amounts an investor would budget for these 2 line items when estimating operating expenses and CapEx. For example, $100-200 per door per month for CapEx and $100 per door per month for maintenance and repair.

Hi folks,

I am still in the education phase of my real estate journey but have started networking with friends who are also interested and would like to take action soon. I have a buddy who grew up in Portland, ME (we both live outside Boston) who has an off market opportunity on a triplex in Portland, Maine built in 1900 that I might be interested in partnering on. All units are identical with 2 beds, 1 bath, 1000 sq ft. Location is in a B area within a mile from downtown. This is a changing neighborhood. There are section 8 rentals  in the surrounding blocks and a new affordable housing apt building being built down the street. Some homeless drunks. Also - hipsters, coffee shops, a brewery, and Ramen noodle shop nearby. All units are renting for $1100 currently. We are trying to analyze the numbers using a spreadsheet downloaded from BP. I currently need help with 2 estimates:

1. Maintenance & Repairs per unit (not prop mgmt)

2. CapEx per unit

Are there any other northeast/new england landlords investors, property managers, etc that have experience with these older northeast properties who can give me some dollar amounts to plug in? I understand these would be estimates. We already know there will be some up front CapEx expenses we will have to shell out right off the bat. My plan is to hopefully get some general numbers from the BP community and then factor in the remaining lifespan of the roof, appliances, etc.

Any feedback is truly appreciated!  

@Jonathan Z. I just went through my bank (DCU) for a heloc of 100k secured by my primary residence. It took about 6 - 8 weeks. No closing costs. My goal is to have funds easily accessible to put down on a true investment property. With interest rates still low there are lots of people applying for loans so it may take some time. 

I dig Tim's minisplit suggestion. If I were a tenant, AC would be a definite plus. I'm guessing there aren't too many windows in the unit and attic spaces can get super hot. If they don't have to use a loud window unit your tenant won't lose any more of the already limited natural light. They won't lose window access for the cooler days.