All Forum Posts by: Maggie H.

I'm in the middle of a divorce. I'll be receiving between $250,000 and $300,000 from his 401 K, IRA and money market accounts. I don't have a retirement account and don't want to have to open one in order to receive the funds. I want cash to start investing in RE. I will need it for income after the alimony runs out, so a self directed IRA won't work from what I understand. I spoke with a CPA and was told that I would lose 40% in tax and penalties. Is there any other way, so I don't lose $100,000+?

@James Wise my tenant has never done repairs without getting permission from me first. That's why I'm surprised he would do something as drastic as cutting this column. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks so much for your input.

Thank you @Sean Pincus

@Sean Pincus

I will be working toward resolving the situation using this information. One question is how will I know what the previous or proper position was of the old column to reach it with the new one?

Thanks @Sean Pincus for the quick response. I did fail to mention that I do have a section in my lease requiring written permission for repairs, but he ignored it this time. I am so strapped for cash, because my husband has always collected the rent for me and nothing was set aside for maintenance. Now I can't get my hands on any of it. What can happen to it if I can't take care of it for six months? Should I call a contractor to come in to do an estimate and ask my tenant to pay the $100? And if the cost will be a few hundred, should I ask the tenant to pay in lieu of eviction? He and his wife have lived there for over ten years. They are older people, early 70's, and never want to leave there. I'm a total newbie to investing. I purchased the SFR in 1996 and lived there until 2001 when I met my husband and started renting it out. I'm only now considering REI after the divorce. I have much to learn, obviously!

I live in Southeast Michigan and my SFR is back home in Upstate NY. When I was there back in mid May, I went to inspect the house and the tenant told me that the lally column had rusted out at the bottom, so he cut it and put it back up with boards to support the difference in length. He told me he had noticed changes in the door frame on the main floor, he said before he cut it, but I doubt that. He's always done small repairs for me after telling me about it and I would pay for materials. I'm in the middle of a divorce, so can't afford to do any major work right now. It could be a matter of six months before I can do anything costly. There are a total of three columns in the basement. I didn't know until just recently that they are used temporarily until a more permanent column is put in place. Any suggestions? I can't even afford to evict and find new tenants.

@Scott Demots from what I've seen so far, I know you're right. The members here are friendly and very willing to help newbies like myself. I don't know how active I will be right now due to my situation, but I will ask questions and am grateful to have a place to pose them!

@Account Closed  thank you neighbor!

@Dmitriy Fomichenko thanks for the helpful links and the warm welcome!

@Cal C. Gotcha! I'm hoping to have a team in place and a few local REI club meetings behind me before I take the leap. I have all kinds of time right now, but the lump sum will only be there once, so intend on being very careful. Thanks for your advice!

@Jon Holdman

@Jon Holdman

@Jon Holdman

Thank you all for your input. It looks like I need a serious education on this one. It seems rather daunting to me at this time in my life, but I know it needs to be done, before too long. I'm not particularly savvy when it comes to understanding this aspect of investing. I wonder if there are any tax attorneys here who could advise me a bit, as at this time I am broke!