All Forum Posts by: Ming O.

I'd be patient and keep looking for that deal that makes sense. Network in your area and put yourself out there. Also a good thing might be that the longer you wait, the more you'd be able to save up to purchase the deal or multiple deals. I imagine that at some point the market will have to make a correction - I'd love to know when that would be as well!

We are closing on a legal duplex where we will be living in the main house and renting out the back house. The back house has separate gas and electric lines, but we're debating on adding a water line. 

The cost will be hefty - $3600 just for the city to put it in at the street level, and who knows how much it would be to connect from the street to the house (not sure about that process). Since the back house is currently empty, this would be the time to do it. I feel strongly that the tenant should be responsible for his/her water use, especially with the drought situation. We plan on holding onto the property for a long time, and figure it would pay off in maybe 7 years or so? It would be tight, but we do have some money to do this now. Even though most landlords here pay the water, the rental market is very competitive in our area, and I believe we could get a tenant to agree to pay for the water, albeit maybe having to lower the rent slightly.

What is your opinion on this?

Thanks!

Thanks for the warm welcome! At this time we would like to invest locally - although we definitely want to look out of state at a later time. Yes - too much competition on MLS in LA right now. We're crossing our fingers for when we start our search this fall. Bryan - we got lucky with our duplex - so far it's pretty low-maintenance and we've put in some great tenants. We've had it for about 2 years, and feel like it's the right time to look for a second one. But we are not going to rush the process.

Steven - Thank you for your advice. I am in the process of setting up the S-Corp for my graphic business (according to my CPA, for tax purposes, S-Corp is currently the best set-up for this business). But you're right, it does make sense to keep the 2 businesses separate. I was not aware that selling a rental under a S-Corp is more expensive tax-wise. I will need to speak more to an expert on what to do with our rental in terms of setting up a legal entity.

Dave - From what I understand, both LLC and S-Corp provide liability protection. LLC is much easier to set up and maintain than a S-Corp. However they differ in the way the owner(s)/ entities are taxed - best to speak to your CPA to see which fits your needs best.

I'm self-employed as a graphic designer and am doing business as a partnership (my husband being the partner).

Since we are already paying the $800 a year for filing as a partnership and I've been told by my CPA that the cost of filing my taxes would be the same, we are considering changing the business entity to an S-corp for the added liability protection.

My question is - we have a rental property (duplex) - would it be possible to put our rental property, under the S-corp as well even if the 2 businesses are unrelated? If that is possible, can I do this on my own (via a Legal Zoom, etc) or would I need to seek a real estate attorney? Is this a complex set-up?

Hi there BP community!

I am a newish investor in Los Angeles. Have been researching the forums here and there for two years or so, and am finally joining the conversation. Also most recently have been enjoying the BP podcasts - thanks to Josh and Brandon!

My husband and I have our first property - a duplex - fully rented out, and are thinking about purchasing a second duplex. From our very initial research just on redfin/ trulia, there doesn't seem to be much inventory. How do you go about finding deals creatively/ off the MLS?

Thanks! And looking forward to learning from and sharing with you folks here!