All Forum Posts by: Joel Falk

I recently listened to an older podcast with Gabe Dasilva (episode 258). Gabe’s business model is to take tired Cape Cods, ranch homes, etc. and basically add a level to them to double the square footage. He also moves walls, etc. to make a more modern floorplan, and in many cases he does additions as well. The work looks top notch, and he is growing the business and seems to be doing well—kudos to him!

My question to the forum is this: if you are ripping most of a house to the studs, are you really saving any money by not just demo’ing the whole place and starting from scratch? Seems like if you are working from an existing structure, you might save a bit on the ground floor exterior framing, most of the foundation, and that’s about it. I’d further expect that there would be in many cases extensive foundation work needed if an expansion is planned or if you wanted to finish the basement. So what am I missing here? What is the benefit of the rehab/remake vs. a tear-down?  

I did some very informative reading of the archives trying to find an answer to this, but up to now have not found anything that answers this . I'directlym almost 47 and getting tired of the rat race. I want to keep working until 50 minimum so that I get my employer's retirement healthcare stipend, but would like to "retire" to pursue REI full time as early as possible after that. So my near term goal is to build up a stable of rentals to replace some/all of my income so to make this possible. I do not want or need to take any of the eventual rental income today, I'd like to continue to reinvest it to produce an income stream for retirement.

Is it possible to buy a house, rehab it, and sell it and gain $50k, and use the proceeds of that to buy a long term rental property, and avoid tax by structuring the buying entity in a certain way (S-Corp, C-Corp, LLC? Not sure …)? My thought is that if the 50k gain is immediately reinvested into rental stock, the actual net income is zero, but I'm almost sure I'm oversimplifying things.

Assuming the answer is "no you cannot", is there any way to do flips to fund rentals that minimize current tax obligations (dumping 100% of proceeds into solo 401k, and then taking loans from 401k to fund the rental downpayment/repairs)?  

Hey everyone, 

Brand new to BP but have been studying real estate for a while and am finally financially ready to make a move.  I've been looking for 4+ unit MFRs but don't really see much on Realtor in the Chicago area, but I do see a ton on Loopnet.  Is that the preferred way for these to be listed?  Based on other things I've read, I had thought that Loopnet was a place where listings went to die, rather than a good place to find them, but perhaps Chicago is unique?  

Hey everyone!

Brand new to BP but have considered REI for 15 years or so and am just now in a place where it's realistic. I have a number of interests and will likely purse a combination of both rehab/flips and BRRRs, with a goal of long term cashflow financed by the flips. I live in the western suburbs of Chicago and home prices and taxes make make the BRRR strategy unlikely in my backyard, though it is possible in some pockets of the city proper. That said, I'm working through the David Greene's long distance investing book now and considering markets that might make sense for me.

Anyway, just wanted to check in and say hello. I’m really impressed by BP—everyone is super helpful and supportive!  I'm a bit addicted to the podcasts--have listened to about 50 of them over the past 3 weeks!

All the best to everyone,

Joel