All Forum Posts by: Jessica S.

I ran comps through Redfin on two houses that I was looking at and then asked my realtor to do the same. We both came up with the same numbers. The trick is to do it manually by picking which properties get included in the analysis.

I love it! You have a good eye and a good sense of design. Nice work.

PS I like the square planters, I just think they look a little too new and contrast-y right now. They will look great after they've aged and settled in a bit.

The new ac and dishwasher you put in need to be depreciated not deducted as expenses. Same goes for the other upgrades you're thinking of doing. Repairs are considered expenses and can be deducted, but none of what you mentioned falls into that category, unfortunately.

I'm not familiar with the term, "sheet goods," but I'm pretty sure it's the same as vinyl sheet flooring. Vinyl flooring is cheap and durable. In my area you wouldn't use this in a flip, although it's great for rentals.

I suggest talking to a realtor and/or touring some comparable homes for sale in your area to see what flooring materials are being used.

Good luck with your project.

yes! I went to Australia primarily so I could hold a koala.

I don't believe in having sellers do repairs. They have zero motivation for getting them done properly, and will simply look for the cheapest price. If you insist on having the seller pay for the furnace, get a bid and use it to negotiate a credit.

Turbotax should be fine. They have a version that covers rental income which can calculate the depreciation for you. Although, since it's only been in service for a month you probably won't have much depreciation to capture.

If you made repairs to the house in the process of turning it into a rental the cost can be deducted from the income. Most upgrades and replacements (new roof, new appliances etc.) will need to be depreciated, not deducted. If you paid any individuals over $600 to do the work I mentioned above, you will need to issue 1099's by Jan 31. It's not hard, you can do it online.

If you start out collecting the rent in person it may be difficult to switch it up later. If I was the tenant I might be a little irritated that I now have to figure out how to get the rent to you when you used to pick it up. I would decide now how you want to do it and then stick with your chosen method.

My tenants use Dwolla to pay me but they are young and tech-savvy. My older tenant who "doesn't think the Internet is safe" deposits her check at my bank.

I've found that my GC can usually get better prices from his subs than I would get. There's contractor price and retail price. You'll be paying the latter, at least when you're first starting out.

Also, if you're not familiar with the order of work and who needs to come in when you may run into problems. (I say this from experience, and the experience sucked...)

I suggest hiring a GC for your first project. Once you're more familiar with the process you may decide to do it yourself.