All Forum Posts by: Lisa W.

@Nate Meeker THANK YOU SO MUCH Nathan!!! 

What I'm understanding from that wonderful summary/excerpt is that the room rental "business" is restricted to any part of the home that is 100% used for rental (not including common areas shared for personal use), which would then apply to any write off of maintenance, furnishing, etc, correct? Do utility bills and subscriptions then have a % written off based on sqft rented?

@Jamie Banks thank you! Do you recall the title of the forum you referred to? 

Thanks @Colleen F.

I'm starting on my journey as an REI and am hoping someone can help with the legal aspect:

1) As I'm reading forums and accumulating everyone's "house hacking" ideas, there's been a conversation about Series LLC: one hand -- Series LLC being good to put each unit into it's own LLC an shield it from your personal assets and other units, but another argument being that Series LLCs are a waste of money because the individual still gets sued anyway) vs an Umbrella policy for my overall net worth, which will provide more liability protection than an LLC would. I'm just starting, so my net worth isn't that much.

2) If Series LLC is the way to go: I'm aiming for the units being in all different States (aside from California). Will a Series LLC opened in a State different than where the lawsuit occurs be an issue? I.e. if laws in the State of the lawsuit are more stringent than laws in the LLC State, will the LLC be nulled? I read somewhere that if the lawsuit occurred in California, then I would still have to pay the LLC fees for California even if the LLC were opened in a State that had it's own fees; if I wanted the LLC to cover the California unit.

Thank you, in advance, to ALL!!!

Thanks @Bill B..  I'll look into the Umbrella policy.  

Thanks @Dave Kush and @Bill B. .. I meant to say Reverse 1031 .. where you buy first and then sell, but I wasn't sure if there was a time limitation. 

@Bill B. ... if the unit was under an LLC, wouldn't the LLC be sued instead of any individual? I was reading about LLCs and an attorney's post stated it's mainly because of people not following the rules needed to maintain an LLC (i.e. annual reports, filing fees, etc) that lawsuits end up failing and therefore the individual gets sued. Have you heard anything about that?

I know Primary Resident is when you actually live in the unit for majority of the time.

Q: If I rent out a room in my primary resident, is there a percentage (i.e. 2 rooms rented out of 3 or sqft, etc) that then makes the primary residence qualify as an investment property?  

Or, is it a dead fast rule that if you're living in it then it's a primary residence (period).  

Thank you!

Hello All,

Here's my situation:

1st unit - no mortgage

2nd unit - has a mortgage

3rd unit - looking to buy and use as a primary resident for a few years

Questions:

1) can I 1031 x/c the 1st unit to pay off the mortgage of the 2nd unit?

2) I'm wanting to start a Series LLC: putting the 1st unit under the Series LLC isn't a problem (since the mortgage is paid off), but, I'm told, if I want to put the 2nd unit under the LLC then I either 1. have to pay off the mortgage first or, 2. refinance it under the LLC, in which the interest rate will increase because it's an LLC.

3) I'll be joining the military and am looking to purchase units as I move (hence 3rd unit). I understand getting a personal loan (especially VA loan) will have lower interest rates compared to an LLC. I heard on the BP podcast about a hack by getting a personal loan first and then transferring the unit to the LLC, but I've asked about that before hearing the podcast which is where question #2 came about - needing to pay off the mortgage first or refinancing under the LLC.

- 3rd unit ... since I'll be living in it myself, I know there's then no need to put it under the LLC until later when I move and decide to still keep it, but if it was possible, I might rent out a room. I'm sure renter's insurance should be enough to cover any liabilities on that end, right?

** Side note: all units are/will be in different States. 

Any ideas, or combination of ideas, will be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!!