All Forum Posts by: Kevin Wu

Hi Bigger Pockets! I just recently moved from Boston to San Diego for work. I'm relatively new to RE investing but I purchased a duplex in greater Boston last year. I would like to learn about the real estate scene in San Diego, are there any local meetups?

I'm currently in a dilemma where I'm wondering if I should buy a home in SD (seems to be a great market for appreciation), or continue renting and purchase an RE investment out-of-state. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Bigger Pockets!

My name is Kevin Wu, a design engineer, and I'm a new investor in the Boston area. I was born and raised in Boston and I am currently closing on my first property, which is a duplex that I plan on house hacking. After listening to BP podcasts, reading their books, and researching for a past 6 months, I thought it was time to properly join the community. The duplex that I am closing on only require some minor cosmetic rehab and there isn't much opportunity for forced appreciation but in the future, I'm motivated to get into BRRRRing distressed properties. I'd love to learn about the rehabbing process, landlording / working with PM companies, and financing (hard money/private money). I'm looking forward to networking, building connections with the BP community, and helping to contribute whenever I can.

- Kevin

Hi @Avery Heilbron, thanks for the insight! I can totally see how renovating the unit to build equity would be a much larger driver compared to any money saved from tax deductions.

Hi Bigger Pockets!

I'm a newbie in real estate investing from Boston, MA. I am currently searching for my first small multi family to house-hack and I ran into a question while putting in offers: when should I renovate a unit as I'm house-hacking?

As an example, I am currently looking at a 4-family multi. 3 units are tenanted but a 2-bed unit is vacant. I was initially planning on living in the 2-bed unit and renovating it as I lived there.

However, I talked to a CPA that deals in real estate (my sister) and she mentioned that I can only have tax deductions on expenses spent on the rented portion of my property, not the one I am currently occupying. So to get tax deductions on improvements for that 2-bed unit, I would need to live in a separate unit and renovate it while it is vacant. In that case, are the tax deductions for the renovation expenses worth the cost of vacancy?

I was planning on remodeling the kitchen (add an island, add a stove vent, change the countertops, touch up the cabinets), demo and move the internal wall of an office space and make it into a 3rd bedroom, and maybe update the flooring.

This might be more of a question for a CPA that is also an RE investor but please let me know if you have some insight on this situation. Thank you!