All Forum Posts by: Jeff Prather

Luka. Just tried to dm you but your contact info said "hidden." Will you see if you can dm me.

Luka, Daniel, and James. All very helpful replies! Thanks. I actually have met Josh and can't believe I forgot him and billy and Devin from rein offer good services. Thanks agin for really helpful input!

I'm trying to build contractor relationships in Nashville. I've needed people from electricians to roofers, foundation experts and mainly just a very good general handyman. To date, I've been using Home Advisor with mixed results. I usually find someone acceptable eventually but generally sort through many no shows in the process. I think, due to all of the work that there is in Nashville, calendars for contractors are full. I only need work a few times per year between my two properties and due to the workload, I think contractors are finding it difficult or not worth their time to take on smaller projects in the $100 - $500 range. Mainly, I'm looking to build my list of dependable folks I can call on the next time I need work done.  If you are interested or have a referral, please provide contact information and your specialties and I will store it for future use. The projects I currently need done are - junk removal, painting cabinets, removing a large shrub, electrical work, insulating pipes, raking, and lawn mowing and edging when spring rolls around.

Just heard about this and I wish I could make it. I'm out of town for work on 9/19. I hope we can keep getting the Nashville community together. I'll see y'all next time

I'm house hacking a duplex. The other side is in transition between tenants. It will be unoccupied for a month but the next tenants are lined up and under lease. I've read some other advice regarding keeping the power on in a vacant property but the reasoning behind it is usually related to showing the property in a well lit environment at a comfortable temperature. I will not need to show since the next tenants are under a lease. Other reasons include that no power is an indicator of a vacant property. I see the appearance of vacancy as less of a concern in my situation as my wife and I are in and out of our side daily and in and out of the other side weekly with contractors. My exiting tenant has removed the power from her name and there is currently no power. Do I need to move the power into my name for the one month transition period? I'm in the south and daily temperatures are in the 80's so I'm slightly concerned about heat and humidity leading to mold or a foul smell. Your advice is appreciated!

I did it! I bought a duplex. I'm living in one unit. I'm renting the other. 

Now, I want to be proactive about the bookkeeping so that I don't have a nightmare at tax time. Here is what I want to know. 

I set up three new accounts for the property - 1 checking and 2 savings (one savings just holds the security deposit and the other will be overflow from the checking. I'll keep a certain buffer amount in the checking but then I'll transfer anything over that to savings). I set it up this way to avoid co-mingling of personal expenses with expenses for the property. I have not set up an entity so this will go on my personal return. Here is the problem: its impossible to avoid co-mingling with a house hack!

I've already put money into the property and I used my personal accounts to pay because it wasn't strictly for the tenant side only. The money has been for things like junk removal and cleaning of the crawlspace, home depot supplies for yard projects, landscaping, ect. I know if I consult a qualified CPA at the end of the year they will tell me how much I can deduct and I plan do do that. For now, for my own tracking purposes, I'm trying to wrap my mind around spread sheeting the expenses and determining which accounts to pull money from to cover them:

How will deductions work since its part dwelling for me and part investment? as a general rule, would I just deduct half of my expenses? 

Should expenses be taken out of the investment property account or my personal account?

How can I expect the purchase to affect me at tax time? I understand that buying a house should, as a general rule, positively impact me at tax time. Is there a way for me to quantify that and adjust my w-4 deductions (from my 9-5 job) accordingly? I'm a big fan of tax planning and estimating throughout the year what I'll owe. The last two years, I've paid an additional $100 in taxes at the end of the year combined. Its been fairly simple though with just a federal 1040 from a single w-2 job and no state income tax - Thanks Tennessee!!

I'm open to any suggestions that I can implement today to improve my systems and make my life easier in the future relating to house hack. Thanks all!

Hi @Viviana Rueda. I'm a newbie investor but this is my exact niche so I know a little bit in this area. I've been searching for a small multifamily unit in specific surrounding Nashville for 6 months now. I have some really strict criteria on location and condition since I want to house hack and live there. 

Nashville has more than a small population of small multifamily but not a high population. The problem right now is that not a lot hit the market. They are making a killing for their owners so very few are incentivised to sell. I maybe come across a deal every other week that fits my criteria and there is a feeding frenzie from buyers. I bid over asking on my last two and lost.  If you have more open criteria, you may be able to come across more deal flow.  Don't expect any 2% deals, and don't expect 1% either unless you plan to invest in c-class neighborhoods and further out at least 30 minutes from downtown. Even the B areas are priced pretty high. 

Owner occupied small multifamily property desired. Rents from non occupied units should cover or nearly cover PITI. 37215, 37212, 37211, 37220, 37204, and 37067 are desired locations.

I have an opportunity on a Quad in a very desirable neighborhood of Nashville, TN. The asking price is $600,000 and rents are $6,000. 

A question for investors who have experience in more expensive properties with higher rents

When I use typical expense and capex estimates of say 5% of rents each, I feel they are overstating annual expenses due to the large dollar value of rents. Does anyone agree that $3,600 each for repairs and capex annually sound like a lot? I mean, 72k in total for both in 10 years??? Is there an alternate method for more expensive properties with high rents?

@Derek Boone. Man, I really appreciate the response! Would you mind recommending some zip codes or neighborhoods where I can look for multifamily near Nashville under 300k? I'm looking for my "farm." 

Also, I started thinking about the green hills town home in a new way. I've got a friend who told me about a unique strategy he uses. He ties up a property in a long term lease for 2-3 years and so he is able to get it below market then he sublets for a little more. So in my example. I'd agree to a 2-3 year lease at $1,700 and then sublet at $1,850 ish. Or even try to manage it as an air B&B type rental.