All Forum Posts by: Jerry Kisasonak

Interesting topic. Does anyone know of a company/website that tracks this type of data?

Thanks for the plug @Shaun Reilly

I didn't realize you were such a player in the New Castle area. I agree totally with your post. Tough area to make a go at being a landlord. Like all towns though, there are some good areas to buy in.

Bumping the thread... and also wanted to ask if anyone on here has actually done a loan with B2R?

Joe and I are good friends. He and his team have been the largest home buyer in the City of Pittsburgh for the past few years. Joe is a great guy and has a great handle on how to systematize a business - in particular buying and managing residential real estate. Besides being a landlord he also flips homes.

I like his style. He tells it like it is. Personally I can't think of anyone else in the Pittsburgh area who does what he does and is willing to share their experiences. There's lots of people talking about real estate - not many who are doing it at the level he is.

As for his course, these guys really love doing the business and are opening up to help others grow their businesses and to possibly help them see a different way of doing things. Given their success, they obviously aren't selling a course because they can't make money doing anything else. Also, the course is only a few hundred dollars - basically free given the value it can add to your business.

@Bob B.

Sorry, I realize I should have posted a follow-up post to this thread.

In any case, the answer is yes and no. I didn't get the full $600 back - only $450.

I sent an email to the attorney explaining what closing costs are the responsibility of the seller and what costs are the responsibility of the buyer. In PA, the buyer usually pays for the title search. Deed prep, lien letters, tax certs etc are the responsibility of the seller. Being that is the case, I agreed to eat the cost of the title search which was $150.

What really turned this around was that the attorney pressured the seller into paying, and eventually they caved and cleared up the bill less the $150 that I agreed to pay. All is well that ends well! And now I know to have in our agreement what happens with the earnest money if the deal falls apart due to something on the sellers end!

If you're not 100% - walk. If it were me I would at least thank the wholesaler for all their work and their willingness to try to get the deal to work. If you feel good about the wholesaler tell him/her to keep you in mind for the next deal they find.

I am not really sure what would make Pittsburgh an exceptional place to flip homes. In most markets you can find motivated sellers who will sell under value for a quick sale on houses that need work. There's nothing unprecedented here in my opinion. Cashflowing buy and holds... that's a different story.

Tomorrow evening (April 16th) we are hosting a FREE real estate investor get-together. We are in the Pittsburgh area. Our guest speaker is Pittsburgh's largest home buyer - Joe Calloway. He and his company purchased 72 homes in 2014 alone! Please read the flyer for additional details. The address is a little hard to read - it's 3017 Jacks Run Rd White Oak, Pa 15131. Start time is 6:30Pm. Message me if you have any questions. Thanks! 

Hi Dan! I would attend ACRE or WPREIA. They are the two big real estate investor associations in the Pittsburgh area. We also organize a group east of the city in White Oak which is free to attend, but this would be a little far out from you. Anyway, hope this helps!  

I am trying to get a handle on the new taxes codes in regards to expensing versus capitalizing and depreciating. I have heard that the new laws basically state that "replacing" something such as a roof, AC unit, etc is now expensed (written off 100% in the year it was done) versus the old way, which was to add the amount paid for the replacement to your cost basis and depreciate the improvement over time.

From what I understand, the IRS is saying that since you already bought the roof when you purchased the home replacing the roof isn't really considered an improvement anymore - and it is written off like you'd write off something cosmetic like paint. I suppose the gist of it is that if it's a replacement of something its an expense, and if its an addition its a capital improvement - like putting a deck on where one didn't previously exist.

Is this accurate? If it is, the impact this has on our cost basis is significant. We could no longer increase our cost basis by doing basic renovations when we buy and this will lead to less that we can write off in depreciation, which translates to more taxes we'll pay on our cashflow. On the positive side, we'll be able to take 100% of the losses/expenses as they happen, which would even things out if we are continually buying and renovating properties. I am thinking correctly on this? Thanks in advance for the feedback!