All Forum Posts by: Mike O.

I bought a rental townhouse in 2015 for $180,000(paid cash) and just sold it yesterday for $227,500. I am interested in doing a 1030 exchange to avoid property gains tax and had a few questions. I understand I need to identify a property within 45 days and close within 180 days. I was going to put the money into my brokerage account until I found a property but read last night that if I do that I won't be able to do a 1030 exchange. It said I need to invest all of the $227,500 to qualify.

Am I allowed to buy 2 houses for 200k each and put $115,000 into each of them and get a loan for the remaining $85k on each of the properties? Any extra advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 

I have used Cozy for the last 5 years and I love it

If you are buying a property with tenants that just signed a lease a month prior to you buying a property you need to get their background, credit checks and leases from the previous owner before closing.  The tenants are just as important as the house you are buying and could cost you $$$ if not properly screened 

There was a comp last year that sold around 240k. I'm almost positive we wouldn't get over 250k and was just mentioning that there wasn't anything for sale under 300k. I met the tenants this morning and they are ok with using realtors if that's the route we want to take. Pretty sure they don't want to use realtors to get a better deal on the house 

Current tenants lease expires April 30th and are wanting to buy the house. They want to do everything without realtors to avoid having to pay the fees. listing price would be around 240k and currently there is nothing under 300k available in the area. Tenant mentioned paying around 215k based on the fact that I wouldn't be paying realtor fees. I currently have a realtor (friend) helping me out on making the best decision and at the very least would be used as a facilitator to take care of any paperwork. My realtor thinks if we list it we will get multiple offers and potentially more than asking price based on it being the only house available. Trying to weigh my options and make the best decision for me to get the most $$$ 

I manage the 4 properties I own and would also recommend cozy 

I refund the background check fee when I collect first months rent and security deposit. Obviously if you fail the background check I am not going to reimburse you the money. It comes down to personal preference and I don't think either way is right or wrong 

I have used cozy 3 times with no problems 

Something similar happened to me with my HOA association. Ultimately they caught it a few months later and I ended up having to pay it but I had an automatic withdraw. I assume at some point they will catch it and you will be responsible for paying it but I really don't think they will charge you late fees. Do you physically need to go online and pay or is it an automatic withdraw?

I had a tenant sign a 1 year lease on august 1st and she paid the full year plus security deposit up front($24k). She is retired and had a hard time proving income. After doing a background and credit check (800 credit score and very little debt) I decided to rent to her. I also contacted her previous landlord and everything checked out good and the reason she was moving was because her previous landlord was selling the house. I had my doubts and actually posted a similar topic as yours a few months back. It has only been a few months and everything is perfect. In the end it just comes down to every other potential tenant and you just need to go with your gut feeling.