All Forum Posts by: Lue C.

Thank you all for your comments.

@Daria B.  Thank you for responding.  I feel the same way too.  May I ask how you are investing with notes?

I have been researching REI with IRA money. Here are some of my thoughts, and I would love to hear what you think? More importantly, what are you investing with your self directed IRA and why.

There are many tax benefits for investing in real estate - deduction, depreciation, 1031 exchange and etc. The idea is to keep "kicking the can down the road" - keep delaying paying taxes while utilizing the profits now - living off the cash flow or investing. Let me just use rental property as an example. If my net income from a rental property is $5000 last year, I can work with my tax adviser to use depreciation to "write off" that income. To the IRS, my LLC could have operated on a negative income for 2016, so I can pocket the whole $5000 without paying tax last year. I understand I need to pay tax when I sell unless I do a 1031 exchange, but let's just focus on 2016 for now.

If the same rental property is owned by my pre-tax IRA account, does it mean I can't do any of the write off? My IRA will just grow $5000 in 2016, and I will pay tax when I withdraw the money after age 59? Will these $5000 be taxed on capital gain rate (15%) or my income bracket at the time of withdrawn?

Or, is it better to use the pre-tax IRA to invest in notes and tax liens where we don't get tax benefits, and use cash to invest in rental properties and syndication deals that can utilize tax benefits? What about Roth IRA - which niches to invest with already-paid-tax IRA?

What are your thoughts?

Lue

Hi, can someone recommend a handyman for Central Jersey?  My tenant is reporting faucet leaks and bathroom exhaust fans not working.  The property is in Carteret, NJ - Middlesex County.

Hi,

If I buy a multi-family investment property in NJ, how do I estimate the closing costs?  Is there a rule of thumb?  Is it some percentage of the selling price?

Thanks!

Thank you!  It makes a lot sense!

Hi,

Since I joined BP a week ago,  I've read lots of blogs and discussions, and listened to dozens of podcasts.  I am willing to do whatever it takes to get my first deal!

Here is my question - how does a newbie like myself compete with all these seasoned investors out there?

When a great deal presents itself, all investors (newbie and seasoned) want it.  The experienced investors who have done a lot of deals, likely have big cash reserve, know the market and numbers inside and out, and can flip the property quickly for less.  By the time a new investor like myself finishes analyzing the deal,  some big investor probably has already bought it with cash and started getting his/her resource lined up for rehab work.  You get the idea...

This is not an excuse for not trying.  I simply want to know what I need to do to give myself an edge over my competitors. Someone said, a good deal is not found - it's created.  What are your suggestions for being creative when looking for deals?  Should I focus more on the deals with marginal returns - those big investors pass on?

Thoughts?

Newbie here at BP... I've been listening to past podcasts and am interested in learning more about multifamily/multi units. I heard that a property more than 4 units is considered commercial property and financing becomes complicated. What if I pay cash? Will that eliminate the financing hurdle? Are there any more differences in the process like inspecting and closing? Are all properties listed on Loopnet commercial?

Hi BiggerPockets Community,

I am new to real estate investing, and new to BiggerPockets too.  My immediate goal is to educate myself in real estate investing.  While I continue to research my neighborhood where I know best, I also want to explore out-of-state markets too.  How do I go about researching real estate markets that I have never been to and are out of reasonable driving distance? I have a couple of markets that I am interested in exploring.  What are the online resources I can research a particular local real estate market (zillow, realtor.com?), the neighborhood, the schools (greatschools.org?), the crime rate, the local economy and so on.  My feeling is that the more I know about a neighborhood (not just the real estate), the more comfortable I feel investing.

Any thoughts, help, good/bad stories are greatly appreciated!