All Forum Posts by: Cameron Skinner

@Matt Moldenhauer back in the day we use to call it solitaire put all your receipts in a box until year end take the expenses on schedule E and write the name of the category at the top of the page add one called miscellaneous, then just put the receipts in the category that best fit.  I use to get my kids involved as a game.  Then add them up write the total on the paper and staple the receipts to the back and keep for your back up.  Then put the totals in a spread sheet or just hand write on one sheet of paper.  Your accountant will love you.

Hope this helps, good luck

A lot of risk for the buyer in a contract for deed, the seller still has legal title to the property if they get a judgement againts them, tax lien ect it attaches to the property.  Even well meaning good people might run over someone in there car and end up with a 4 million dollar judgement.

Hope this helps good luck

@Doug Watts In a former life I was licensed to practice tax before the IRS, private message me if you want to try and connect, we can talk about your tax options, because I'm free, and I was where you are a decade and a half ago.

you may be going a little over kill. I had 40 or 50 properties before I ever met with an asset protection attorney and he said I did a good job of asset protection and did not recommend any changes. I grouped my rentals is separate LLC not having too much equity in any one LLC. Looks like your from Florida it's easy and inexpensive to set up Single member LLCs and they do not require an attorney, just go to sunbiz.org and file your articles of organization online. You defiantly need a good lisenced tax professional on your team some on who owns investment real estate themselves to set up your structure for the best tax benefit possible, the wrong structure could cost you thousands in additional taxes. Private message me if you would like a referal.

Hope this helps good luck!

@Alik Levin  did you build it or know the contractor who did?

Eveyones individual tax situation is different, but usually if some one has owned an investment property for a long time and has a low basis in the property they can elect an "installment sale" on their tax return for a property they sale with seller fiancing this allows them to take the income on the sale over the term of loan, as not to kick them up in higher tax bracket. 

@Julian Buick, their are ways to treat your arrange meant as a "joint venture" instead of a full blown partnership and report on your personal return, but you really need a good licensed tax professional to structure to get you the best tax benifite, a simple return with one real estate investment deal should only cost about $300, with the right structure you'll probably save more in tax than the cost of the professional,  If you private message me I can give you some referals.

If I were you I would set up a single member LLC at sunbize.org then just treat as a "disregarded entity" on your personal tax return.

@Brandon Hall is 100% correct Turbo Tax is fine if you just have a W-2 and Mortgage deduction, but their are just way too many variables in real estate transactions, and an almost infinite different ways to report.  Find a good licensed tax professional, someone with some letters behind their name, and someone who owns investment property themselves.  I promise they will save you more in tax then you will pay them in fees.

Hope this helps good luck!

@Lydia S. The improvents will allow a bigger deduction but it also depends on FMV on the date it's transfer. If you just buy a rental and fix it up you depreciate it based off your basis (cost+Improvements-land value) but if you use it for personal use first it's the lesser of FMV or basis. IRS doesn't want you to buy a 30,000 car drive it for 10 years now it's only worth 2k and then transfer it to your business and start depreciating at 10k. This is less relevant in real estate since it tends to go up in value.

Hope this helps

Good luck