All Forum Posts by: Josh Garner

Thank you Russell!

I'm sure there's another one of these threads out there, so feel free to redirect me.

I'm a full-time mortgage lender (not broker - we lend our own money). My wife works just a couple hours a week as a fitness instructor. We are both very active in our rentals (acquiring, managing, renovations, etc) and in the flips we've done, though we do have limited property management in place for our rentals now.

My income this year will be such that Real Estate Pro status will really benefit us and I'm curious what success stories folks have heard for a situation similar to ours where an individual was able to claim this status. Seems like documentation (timelogs, etc) is very important in case of audit, as well as meeting the IRS-defined qualifiers (material participation of 750+ hours and over 50% of work done in real estate). 

I'm also aware that a mortgage broker has been disallowed by the IRS for this status, however in the case that decided that (Hickam, T.C. Summ. 2017-66) the individual was a broker - not lending their own money - and he was an independent contractor, which I am not.

Feel free to share your stories and scenarios!

Right on Jimmy! Reach out to me of you need a local lender. I'm at the meetups and invest in rentals as well. A good number of the deals I finance are with investors. House hacking is how I was able to first purchase my home in Bend!

Yes please. Interested, but need more info. Thanks!

Love this! It doesn't mean anything without action. Pick a market and get to work!

Seems like a good bit of wisdom in this thread already, but one thing I will add - don't expect Bend home prices to fall much at all, if any. Nationally, 40% of homes are owned free and clear....of the 60% with a mortgage, the average home equity is $177,000. In Bend, the average home equity is much, much higher, due to the accelerated appreciation of the last 10 years and the number of cash buyers who pour into our town from more expensive cities (SFO Seattle, LA primarily). In general, people aren't desperate to sell around here and certainly don't need to sell for a loss. I expect that home prices will stabilize a bit locally and not have the 10% appreciation that we've had every year for a decade, but likely not fall much, if at all. By the way, $450/sf is pretty accurate for the downtown (prime STR) spots and is by far the most expensive part of town. That being said, there are STR's all over town that have lots of success and many can be bought for $250/sf. Also, cost of basic construction in Bend currently is approx $250/sf. Best of luck in your search!

Hi @Frankie Lesowske! Did you know we have a local meetup here in Bend? First Thurs of every month at Level 2 in the Old Mill - 5:30pm. Come hang out with us next time! Also, I help a lot of investors to get financing for their rental purchases and refinances - if you'd ever like a lender's perspective on how to plan/strategize for buying in this market, let's grab a beer and chat!

Thanks for starting this up Ken! I'll be out of town the first week of Feb, but would love to join future meetups.

Wish I could make it - will be out of town. Thanks for organizing this Grace!

Hey Mitch!

There's a local investors meetup in Bend on the first Thurs of the month 5-7pm at Level 2 in the Old Mill. Come and join us tomorrow - it's pretty casual and welcoming. I believe there are several folks who regularly attend the monthly meetup that can speak to the auction process. If you'd like any other specific connections with realtors, lending, contractors, etc shoot me a PM....I'd be happy to point you in the right direction. Cheers!