All Forum Posts by: Matt Romano

I also use Cozy.  It's free and easy..  My only complaint with it is that it takes 4 sometimes 5 days for the deposit to show up in my account. But again, its FREE, lol.  I think you can pay more for the payments to be received quicker, but you get notified before the rent is due that it's in process, so you know you're good anyway! 

Good evening @Lindsey Costello and welcome to the Bigger Pockets forums! Now is definitely an interesting time to be shopping around. What I am seeing personally, is that a lot of (non investor) buyers have pumped the brakes with making a move, just because of all the uncertainty ahead of us.  And I feel that the majority of the investors are kind of sitting tight on the sidelines, waiting and hoping for a drop in property values.  Because of these 2 factors, I believe it does create for a lot of opportunity and quite a bit less competition for scoring a decent property.  As you said, it can be extremely tough to view a property during the pandemic, especially with occupied units with tenants whom are uncomfortable allowing strangers to walk through. I completely agree with Anthony that if you were to take the risk of making a purchase without seeing one of the units, I would absolutely factor that into your offer.  I would strongly encourage you to accompany the home inspector during inspections too, I know there are still inspectors out there who are allowing buyers to walk through during the inspection with them.  

Also, there are specific Covid-19 Amendments that we have been attaching to Purchase and Sales agreements to protect our buyers.  Along with different verbiage within the Purchase and Sales agreement.  So make sure your realtor is using those as well!

Good luck with your search! And let us know if you have any other questions! 

Hey Kendrick! Welcome, and congrats on all of the exciting endeavors ahead of you! There's really a lot of factors that come into play when deciding on which broker to work under.  However, I personally believe the #1 thing is having a tremendous broker /owner to look up to.  Broker support is arguably the most important tool a new agent could have.  There's some brokers that offer higher starting commission splits than others (80/20, versus 60/40, for example), but there is far more to the equation than the initial spilt you'd be receiving at your closings.  It sounds like you're ultimate goal is to hold your brokers license so that you can run a property management business, rather than manage a team of real estate agents? I am licensed with a RE/MAX Broker here in RI, and before deciding on hanging my license with them, I spoke / met with at least 5 other broker / owners before making my decision.  I'd be more than happy to discuss further and help guide you in the right direction if you'd like any more input on my experience thus far and how what I've learned may be of value to you, too! Good luck! 

Thanks for the responses guys! Pretty sure the mortgage insurance is deductible though @Wayne Brooks Basically just the mortgage interest and the PMI are deductions. Does that sound right?

So I’m posting this on behalf of a friend of mine. Who purchased a SFH late last year (closed on Dec. 16th). This home was purchased with FHA and will be his primary residence. He didn’t get a 1098 form. And called the bank to inquire about this, and they said he wouldn’t be getting one. His loan has already been sold over to Fannie Mae (don’t think this is relevant). But he worries that he is missing on deductions he could / should be taking. He paid taxes and insurance at closing, and presumably some PMI too? Any insight on this stuff guys? Thanks in advance!!!

So I’m posting this on behalf of a friend of mine. Who purchased a SFH late last year (closed on Dec. 16th). This home was purchased with FHA and will be his primary residence. He didn’t get a 1098 form. And called the bank to inquire about this, and they said he wouldn’t be getting one. His loan has already been sold over to Fannie Mae (don’t think this is relevant). But he worries that he is missing on deductions he could / should be taking. He paid taxes and insurance at closing, and presumably some PMI too? Any insight on this stuff guys? Thanks in advance!!!

@Ryan Davis I agree with what @Steve Bracero suggested. Refinance into a conventional loan with your first property. You'll get rid of the mortgage insurance. And could even lower your monthly payment = more cash flow with that property. Then reap the benefits of the low down payment FHA all over again. Rinse and Repeat! lol, keep in mind, though, that you're "required" to live in the property for at least a year with the FHA loan. And also consider, that the better your loan to value number is, the better REFI rates you can get! Good luck as your prepare for your second deal! :)

@Brandon Ingegneri makes total sense.  I have an appointment with a great CPA next week.  So I can rest assured that it'll be worth it.  

awesome @Yonah Weiss PM coming your way

Thanks @Basit Siddiqi So being that it's an owner occupied rental property, definitely makes it more complicated than if it were JUST a rental.  I don't live in the property yet, the unit where I'll reside is currently vacant. But because I DO intend to live there, regardless of for how long.  I will have to refrain from making those deductions until it becomes rented?  As long as I will still be able to make them I suppose