All Forum Posts by: Kaylee Walterbach

Ghost tenants. Vacancy rate... technically 100%?

Hey Krystin! Welcome to BP :)

One thing to remember about flipping is that you'll have to pay short-term capital gains tax if you live in the property for less than two years. (Taxed along with your ordinary income, 10–37%). There's a strategy called the "live-in flip" where you live in the property as a primary residence for 2+ years and avoid tax altogether. Depending on where the property is/what it's valued at, this savings number could be HUGE.

Even if it's not your forever home, you could either sell it two years down the line or keep it as a rental, depending on your market.

Hey @David Mackin—wouldn't the 75% rental income toward DTI apply either way? As long as we keep the current property and rent it out long-term.

With the high property cost and high interest rates, I'm having a hard time finding ANYTHING in Colorado that cash flows the way I want it to! Curious if you've been finding deals lately? (and where)

Hey @Kayla Givens, thanks for the quick reply. We're in a primary residence now that is in a GREAT spot to be turned into a rental. (Thank you, all-time-low interest rates!) I guess that would be an added benefit of staying locally—we could move into a new primary res/house hack situation and also rent out our current property (again, without management fees).

That's a good point about gaining experience with self-management, too—especially if we go right into managing two properties!

Hey all! I live in an expensive market (Denver) and am toggling between buying one expensive property locally vs. buying multiple cheaper properties out-of-state. 

By buying locally, I can take advantage of all the house hacking / primary residence benefits (low down payment, lower interest, etc.) as well as not needing to hire out property management. By buying OOS, I could purchase multiple properties with 20% down and avoid paying PMI every month.

Which would you choose? My partner and I are on opposite sides of the fence!

Try https://store.biggerpockets.co... 

A few chapters about 1031 in there!

Hi @Chantelle Lewis! Congrats on your duplex.

Note that a cash-out refinance could mean getting a higher interest rate down the line (no one has a crystal ball, but they're still on the rise). You'll also have to pay closing costs (which could be ~3% of the loan). Depending on the loan, the market, etc., a refinance might not make sense 6 months into your rehab.

Have you looked into getting a HELOC? I've never done one personally, but if you have $200k in equity that may be your best option. Interest would be much lower than a personal loan.

@Ian Baldau - Boy, do I have a book for you! 

https://store.biggerpockets.co...

^ It's actually a very fun and quick read and will answer all your questions (and probably some you didn't know you had!) It covers buying a traditional single-family residence but also touches on the importance of investing, exit options, etc. Basically, looking at your first home purchase through the eyes of a future investor.

I also bought my first home in my early 20s and, looking back, wish I had something like this to cover everything. I'm right there with you on the low down payment, staying in the home temporarily, and then renting it out—that's the path we're on with our place!

@Adrienne Green - Thanks, that is helpful!

There's a chapter on O-Zones in The Book on Advanced Tax Strategies! https://store.biggerpockets.co...