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All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey L Jerschina

Jeffrey L Jerschina has started 2 posts and replied 16 times.

Post: "Swapping" Home Titles: Questions and Maximizing Tax Efficiency

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

My wife and I intend on moving to rural coastal Oregon in a few years. We're looking at buying my neighbor's in-laws property. She's an older woman (we'll call her Jane) and lives comfortably in a trailer with some pets and an elderly roommate on 5 acres of land.

My father in law owns an investment property on the coast, about a half acre of land, that he bought in 2007 at the peak of the bubble. Jane is interested in trading her very desirable property for the investment property on the coast (desirable as in if she posted it for sale, plenty of offers from locals and 'city' folk.) 

The properties haven't been appraised in some time. The tax assessment in my FIL's investment property is 148k, and the assessment on Jane's property is 131k. Jane's property has a trailer, but a few ancillary structures and newer septic + great water system. Both properties are paid off in full. The investment property needs some repairs (about 8-10k). The real values of both properties are much higher, and there's some details left out for brevity's sake that I can add in response to comments. 

The question: what is the most tax efficient way to 'swap' properties? 

Is it to sell each other the properties at a number between the tax assessment values? For 10$? Would the best help to go to be a CPA with real estate expertise or a real estate attorney?

Thanks for reading my little tale of adventure, and I'm happy to clarify or elaborate! 

Post: Newbie coming to San Antonio, TX! Army RN; former hitchhiker

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

@Kendra Lane Thanks, will do! I'm looking into trying to grab a few SFHs through DM while I'm here for 6 months, which means I would have to do conventional financing rather than VA or FHA.

Are you looking into investing in SA/surrounding area or are you focused on Austin? 

Post: Anyone on BP investing in Oahu, Hawaii?

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2
Originally posted by @Doug Nordman:

Jeffrey, that old trope of "buy a home at every duty station" might have been cool in the 1980s, but now the Web lets everyone invest where it makes financial sense.  If you're going to become a long-distance landlord after the military transfers you out of Hawaii, maybe it makes more sense to learn how to do it while you're living in Hawaii and investing in someplace like Oklahoma or Michigan.

The military homeowners in Hawaii are making their money by househacking with roommates (like Scott Trench's "Set For Life") or by doing live-in flips... and the more rewarding live-in flips are practically gut-rebuild.  If you're planning to buy a multi-family while you're here during the tail end of a pandemic, well, you'll get real familiar with the landlord-tenant code.

Just because the DoD hands out more BAH here than almost anywhere else is no reason to leverage a VA loan on short-term speculation. The reward is not worth the uncompensated risk.

 Doug, thanks for the response and reality check. While I don't subscribe to that specific AD mantra of "buy at every duty station," it is a very emotionally charged decision to look at renting in Hawaii for 3 years and seeing a potential 100k+ in equity never materialize, although that's at the crux of the rent vs. buy conundrum- emotions vs underwriting!

I need to run the numbers on a few properties in Hawaii- I've been talking to a RE agent and browsing SFHs on the windward side around Kailua and Kaneohe. With enough square footage and correct zoning, I would strongly consider building an ADU on the property and lurking to see if solar panel tax incentives return.

Whether forced appreciation through doing a live-in-flip, ADU, and potentially solar along with equity is enough to eclipse a potential collapse/stagnation in the Oahu market- that's the big sticking point, and all of my musings come back to your premise: is the cash flow there and is the potential for appreciation and equity worth the "uncompensated risk?" With a 0% down VA loan and 3400$+/mo in BAH, it's a tough choice!

Post: Newbie coming to San Antonio, TX! Army RN; former hitchhiker

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

@Polo Vazquez Woah, that's amazing! Thanks for sharing those numbers, that pumps me up. How's the muiltifamily game been in SA? I've been previously told it's a seller's market and not much MFH floating around (on the MLS, at least).

Post: Newbie coming to San Antonio, TX! Army RN; former hitchhiker

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

@Kendra Lane I'm in San Antonio right now attending some training- I haven't bought anything yet, although I definitely agree with you! SA has much better #s than Hawaii. Your post and another one are waking me up that now is great time to invest while I'm here, although I'm partially hesitant because it wouldn't be a house hack/primary residence so I wouldn't be able to finance it with the VA- I'm being put up in an apartment here for the duration of my time here.

When I go on morning runs I'm on the lookout for rundown homes in nice neighborhoods! I have to sit down with my wife and run numbers on a few houses in Hawaii and in SA and show her why I'm so hesitant to do anything on the island :) 

Post: Anyone on BP investing in Oahu, Hawaii?

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

Hey Stacey, I'm moving to Oahu this summer with the military and looking into purchasing a property- I've been told appreciation is amazing out here ("prices double every 10 years! Woah!") though I'm not as impressed, primarily due to such poor cash flow. My military housing allowance changes the equation somewhat, but a Richonmoney article titled "What You need to know about Appreciation in Real Estate" really put me back on a teeter-tooter. 

Short term rentals, pre COVID, appeared to cash flow well but with Bill 89, passed last year, limiting STR #s on Oahu the rules of the game have changed.. Lane put it well- cashflow or trophy asset?

That doesn't mean if you really want to invest, you can't be creative about it- ADU laws changed on Oahu in 2015 and there's tons of condos on the island, though I don't really know anything about them, but there's always opportunities if you look hard enough.

Post: Newbie coming to San Antonio, TX! Army RN; former hitchhiker

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

@Aaron Bihl 

Thanks for the warm welcome! And I really appreciate your offer to share your knowledge of SA. I was there for 3 months a few years ago for some Army training and enjoyed the food, weather, character of the place... although even as a NJ-bred driver, I thought people were pretty nuts on 410! 

I see lots of differing opinions on VA loans- some investors and realtors treat it like the black sheep of financing and those that have used it successfully can't talk enough about its merits. It does seem to come down to what your agent knows about finding VA qualified properties and having an appraiser that appreciates not just, "This place has countertops, check" but "Granite countertops and brand new kitchen, sweet." That paint chip experience must have been frustrating.

0% down- yeah, bold to go in 0% down, but on the other hand, infinite cash on cash return! Haha

Post: Newbie coming to San Antonio, TX! Army RN; former hitchhiker

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

@Jerry Lundergard

Thanks for the advice on using PM firms and PM realtors and contacts to learn more about an area and search out properties. I haven't heard it put like that before and the right firm sounds like it could be a powerful relationship.

VA loan sounds like a special hammer in the corner of the woodshop- it's really effective and works great for the people that have used it before but everyone else isn't sure what to make of it. Thanks for VA tips, I am considering using that for first property but I'll have to work a little harder to make it work!

Post: Newbie coming to San Antonio, TX! Army RN; former hitchhiker

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

@Payton Jeppesen Yeah, the PCS moves caught a lot of people in our footprint off guard as well! Hopefully things blow over and you're not stuck in limbo too much longer, Italy sounds rough right now.

I'm getting the same impression from the SA market. MFH are out there, just not plentiful like in denser areas with condensed suburbias. Your analysis definitely passes the common sense test, just browsing on zillow MFHs are few and far in between. How do you find your RE agents? And do you plan on using VA loan right now or conventional financing, just curious.

I like the idea of using a VA loan and rolling losing costs into the price, which VA loan allows you to do so long as it appraises right.

Post: Newbie coming to San Antonio, TX! Army RN; former hitchhiker

Jeffrey L JerschinaPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Tillamook, OR
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 2

@John Walter Appreciate that insight. I grew up in NJ where most houses were basement foundations and didn't have much termite damage, so that's definitely helpful pocket knowledge to keep in mind when using the VA. Thanks a bunch, I'll keep in touch with other questions as they pop up!