All Forum Posts by: Joel Brown

Sam Newell Rebecca Belnap I talked with the owners Brother in law who is a realtor (although the home is for sale by owner). He views me as an inexperience buyer, and claims that any good lender should get the appraisal in 2 weeks and can guaranty that I get the loan and I could back out before the closing date if I really wanted to. He also claims that the Saint George market had appreciated 11% in the last 12 months. I asked to see the REPC from the purchase last year since their closing was almost exactly 365 days from our projected closing date and I'm certain that they had more than 2 weeks to appraisal and finance. I'm sure their contract gave them 5 or 6 weeks while trying to limit mine to 2 weeks.

@Rebecca Belnap my offer had a doable date for 24b and 24c on the REPC. The seller countered with a shortened date "so they did not have it off the market" and then if I failed they lost the prime time to sell it.  I want it I just think they are painting me into a corner where I have no out if issues are found.  That's not fair and not how a real estate deal should go.  Thanks.

I have an offer on a house (I didn't get any closing concessions, but would like to counter offer) Unfortunately the seller also is wanting the due diligence and appraisal/financing deadline to be in 2 weeks which is impossible unless I am a cash buyer.  I am wondering what the norm is to help us reach a compromise (If I can get a reasonable time frame in the appraisal/financing window. Unfortunately it would make loosing my earnest money a real possibility if anything is off as I would be past time to get out of the contract even if it was caused by the home or sellers issue!

While I know it depends on what is negotiated, who typically pays the buyers closing cost in Utah? My lender told me that he sees upwards of 90% of sales in Utah where the seller pays nearly all (under $300K home sale) or a percentage when the home is above $300K (~2% of the home sale).  Agents out there is this an accurate assessment in Utah (Idaho or Wyoming likely the same)?

I have an offer on a house that will be my "second home". It has a pool, and is close to all the recreational opportunities that I want to be at.  It should easily rent with $300-500 cash flow/ month. It is only a few years old so maintenance should be minimal for a few years. We will stay there for a couple of weeks/months after closing this summer.  Then I plan on renting it until my job opens up next year and we can move there, then it will be my primary residence.  I am just wondering how this all works out tax and capital gains wise, as I can alter the events according to what will make the most sense tax/income/happiness wise.

So, If I purchase a single family house (that I really like) and I rent it out for a few months (or years) then I move into it. How is that treated tax wise (IRS) and investment wise (I may put in an LLC). I obviously have business expenses when using it for a rental, but those expenses become homeowner expenses as soon as I move in. What other ramifications am I neglecting to think about. I'm not sure when I will relocate and take over the rental. Thanks in advanced.

So, If I purchase a single family house (that I really like) and I rent it out for a few months (or years) then I move into it. How is that treated tax wise (IRS) and investment wise (It may be in an LLC). I obviously have business expenses when using it for a rental, but those expenses become homeowner expenses as soon as I move in. What other ramifications am I neglecting to think about. I'm not sure when I will relocate and take over the rental. Thanks in advanced.

Also, don't forget about depreciation.  You'll have to recapture it if and when you sell, but it's merely a loss on paper and can bring you back in the black in a case like this, so you likely wont lose money.  If you figure $20K for land you'll depreciate $60K over the next 27.5 years which puts you at $2,100 a year you can write off as a "loss" (assuming you itemize which should be a given for any RE investor)  I agree that this looks like a minimal cash flow property with some risk, but if you want to build equity and know it will rent you will at least keep your head above water on it.  As the saying goes if you had a hundred of these you'd be worth 50M in 30 years (or broke if your maintenance beats you up).

@Rebecca Belnap My son is a Sophomore at BYU and is very motivated to get into real estate. He is taking classes part time and wants to wholesale/find/flip and move to buy and hold properties.  I'm just don't have as much time as he does, and I live 10 hours away (although I'm in the area almost monthly).  I'd love to do some flips and gain more experience that I could use in a market where I would not competing (St George for example).

The condos I've looked at or bought have all had the external insurance bundled and paid through the HOA. It includes everything but the content inside the condo and usually has a fairly large deductible. Your H06 insurance sometimes covers the deductible and the contents inside should be really inexpensive (mine are less that $150/year for a 3BD, 3BA 15 year old condo). The experienced investors I've talked to caution to look into what reserves the HOA has especially as the condos get older. The assessments can get large, if for say the roofs or pool needs updated.