All Forum Posts by: Mayank Jain

Thats a fair point @Erik Estrada about not wasting a lender's time & effort - but how do I identify a good lending partnership if they don't disclose their numbers & estimates to me? 

And what are your thoughts about the loan estimate sheet?

Hi everyone,

I'm a new home buyer from Bay Area and trying to get pre-approvals in place before I start making offers. I have strong financials and will be doing a >50% down payment for a Condo. DTI < 33%

I've been constantly getting advised by my real estate agent (& i've discussed this with multiple agents) that if I add any contingencies to the offer, it won't stand a chance in the bay area market.

If that is the case, how do I protect myself from challenges which could be found during home inspection / pest inspection related contingencies?

Would love some inputs here.
Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm a new home buyer from Bay Area and trying to get pre-approvals in place before I start making offers. I have strong financials and will be doing a >50% down payment for a Condo. DTI < 33%

Some inconsistencies that I am discovering in the process
- Some lenders requiring a hard-credit pull vs some ok pre-approving me with just a soft pull
- Some lenders willing to share a loan estimate sheet with exact costs to close, vs some keep insisting that they "need to run the process to get the loan estimate" and that it can only be done after I get into contract.

Just before going into a contract, I would like compare all of the pre-approvals and compare their rates, exact cost to close & potential time to close & then pick the best one to make the offer.

Ideal scenario
- Pre-approve based on a soft pull (so I don't get my credit score dinged every time I work with a new lender)
- Share loan estimate sheet with pre-approval for a potential property

Am I asking too much from the lenders?

Thanks

Thanks everyone for some really good insights. I will go back and re-evaluate what type of agent I would like to work with next.

Is there a good checklist that I could use to find a good agent?

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I'm Mayank, a new home buyer from Bay Area.
With this post, I have no intention of offending anyone - however I do seek genuine information.

In my past 3+ months of experience of working with an agent, they are available to show us homes as we requested. They are a great person & I wish them the best of luck for future work.

However, I'm somehow unable to justify the $25k+ I am expected to pay to them as commission on each $1M invested.

If I am researching the market myself, creating comps myself, reviewing each disclosure myself, working with the mortgage lender myself, finding problems in the homes myself -  what is the value add that the agent is bringing to the table that I can't execute myself?

Do I need the agent just to create an offer?

What am I missing? What is the value add by a Real Estate Agent?

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I'm a house hacking rookie. I intend to get a single family residence, add an ADU, live myself in the residence and rent out the ADU as a studio apartment long term.

I have checked my city's ADU laws and long term renting is permitted.

Question : can I obtain the REP status while maintaining the ADU while it is in my primary residence? (Assuming I meet REP criterias).

Thanks 

I did some more research and found that if I live in the same residence that I'm trying to STR with, then it can only offset my income from the STR - until I keep a space in the residence (room or ADU, etc) specifically marked for STR. However in that case, the deductions are minimal as the whole cost basis is significantly reduced.

Thanks!

i did some more research and found that if I live in the same residence that I'm trying to STR with, then it can only offset my income from the STR - until I keep a space in the residence (room or ADU, etc) specifically marked for STR. However in that case, the deductions are minimal as the whole cost basis is significantly reduced.

Thanks!

 Hi Michael, thanks for that very informative link. 

So if I understood it correctly, once the depreciation schedule has been completed, the objects in question can no longer be depreciated. I think this is in line with what I was thinking (shown in the screenshot in my original post).

My high level plan is : If I live in a Single Family Residence and put it up for STR for a few weeks in the year to qualify for STR tax loophole (Avg 7 days rental + show 100 hours of my participation + showcase my material participation), can I deduct relevant STR related expenses and depreciate my property via cost segregation study as if the entire house is being used for STR?

The intention is to lower my cost of ownership for my primary residence. Any cashflow from STR is a bonus on top.

Does this plan seem logical?

Many thanks!