All Forum Posts by: Laura Thorne

If I log the requisite 750 hours of real estate-related work a year and claim to be a professional investor, can I use my tax deductions from real estate to offset my spouse's ordinary income?  Or is the professional investor loophole only to offset the professional investor's income?  We do file jointly and the properties are in both of our names.  Thanks in advance!

I am curious to hear what you learn.  I also have a duplex in Minneapolis with a large unfinished basement and a small working but unused 1/2 bathroom.  The basement is just used as free storage (it helps rent out the units) but if I could get a studio there for $500/month that would be amazing.  I am curious if zoning permits an addition and what it costs to build a unit.  Let me know what you learn!

Someone was talking about this on a BP podcast.  They recommended insuring for the cash value, not the replacement value.  If it burned to the ground you probably would not rebuild it but just take the cash and find another investment property.  

I am buying my first duplex in a neighborhood close to Bryant.  These areas are decent, working class neighborhoods.  They are not the "hot" areas but those areas are hard to cash flow.  There is a lot of hipster types that live there, a new restaurant "The Tiny Diner" went up in the adjacent neighborhood which is popular and well- run.  Nearby Powderhorn has their own art fair.  There are people out during the day walking their dogs and biking.  All good signs!  Good luck to you!

We close on a duplex at the end of the month (yay!) and will be inheriting tenants who have not paid rent since the duplex went into short sale in January (boo).  I am sending them a rental application but they are likely not going to meet the criteria for credit or pass a background check.

I live in Minnesota, what are my options?  The house needs a month's worth of rehab so I thought of offering them a discount rate while the work is done and then telling them they have to leave.

Do they have any rights?  Do I have to give them 30 days notice even if they have no formal lease?  Would I have to evict if they refused to leave?  

@Dustin Beam correct, it's a 30 year fixed. I was told the same thing, that over four units is commercial and those loans can have the LLC be the borrower.

I wanted to create an LLC and have the entity purchase a duplex in order to protect our personal assets from a potential settlement-hungry tenant. We found that no lender will structure a deal where an LLC buys the duplex even if you personally guarantee it. The reason is the lender needs to bundle the loans to sell to other investors and they can't bundle a mortgage from an LLC. If we bought a bigger property (more than 5 units) that would not be an issue.

Other than screening tenants really well and making sure you have a solid lease, having homeowners insurance and of course keeping your property safe, how do you protect yourself from liability?

@Mike Edgar Perhaps this can be negotiation point if the purchase agreement was subject to financing (and the bank doesn't agree with the pricing therefore won't give you a loan)?  I am also trying to take setbacks as "learning opportunities."  Sadly, these learning opportunities are so expensive!

The New York Times ran an article this year about North Minneapolis and efforts to rebuild the neighborhood.  The properties are so much cheaper than south Minneapolis but I don't know enough about which blocks are good, which are iffy.  I hope the neighborhood does improve, the location is so close to downtown it would be a great place to invest!