All Forum Posts by: Stephen Chan

Hi all,

(Apologies if this is posted in the wrong forum - not sure which section this belongs to!)

As in the title, my 1st floor tenant recently clogged his toilet, causing it to overflow, and a good amount of water got through the 1st floor, into the basement's ceiling, and subsequently, floor.

I'm a newbie landlord (just started last year), and not quite sure where to start in terms of getting a quote for repairs. The tenant's dad is a contractor and the tenant offered to have his father look at it - but as you can imagine, I have can't trust the guy's judgement, as the father could just say "no damage" leaving me "holding the bag".

Some areas of the floor and a velvet couch that was in the basement also seems to be growing this dense, white, spider-web like substance (mold?) in certain areas where the water had settled.

There's no water anymore, but the flooding so far damaged:
A) 1/2 of one of the room's drop ceiling tiles [see pic set A]
B) A couch which seems to have this "white growth" [see pic set A]
B) About 1/8 of the main basement room's (sheetrock?) ceiling [See pic set B]

Pictures
Set A - http://imgur.com/a/lgVhV
Set B - http://imgur.com/a/wsjU0

Long story short, I feel that I need to contact someone to get a quote - but should it be:
- A general contractor?
- A mold removal guy?
- A water / flood specialist?

Help?

(Thanks in advance!)

Thanks Robert and Steven - just to update, I've decided to just get umbrella insurance and not do an LLC. The costs / paperwork / upkeep vs small potential risk of not having an LLC isn't justified, at least for now.

Thanks again for your advice!

Hi everyone!

I have an odd ball situation / question about if a particular method to minimize my tax liabilities on the rental income from a multi-family home purchase is legal, as follows:

Assumption: The 2nd party is pretty much at the bottom tier of the income bracket, while I'm at a much higher rate.

1. I purchase a multi-family home.
2. I lease all of the units in the home to a 2nd party, at free / near-free rates
3. Set up the 2nd party to sublease / re-lease out the units
4. New renters would pay the 2nd party directly, into a separate account dedicated for just this.
5. 2nd party will pay the income taxes. IRS is happy (?)

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In short, I'm hoping to "shift" the reportable income over to a 2nd party. (They're someone I trust - not worried about the money aspect.) Would this be a legal / allowed method to minimize taxes, as long as taxes are indeed being paid?

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I'm open to suggestions / criticisms / feedback - thanks all!

Hello everyone,

I'm a first time home-buyer, about to close on my property tomorrow! Some quick facts about my situation:

- The property is a 2-family house.
- I'm located in Long Island, New York
- I am a 50% owner in another business / LLC.
- I was originally planning to live in 1 apt, and rent the other. Due to personal circumstances, I will likely need to rent out both apt's.

I've been debating what the "best practices" are regarding protecting my assets are in my situation. Before I posted, I've done quite a bit of research... (To link to a few, Article 1. http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/08/17/rental-properties-llc/ + Article 2. http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2010/07/11/are-you-afraid-of-the-due-on-sale-clause/ + other various forum threads here + other sites, etc.) and am still undecided because of the following:

- Based on the Pros vs Cons of an LLC and my situation, is it really worthwhile to form an LLC? I do plan on buying more properties in the future (next one I'm targeting is around 2018 or so). If knowing this, am I better off setting up this structure now, rather than to convert over later? (Or, should I consider series LLCs, if such a thing is recognized in New York)

- How big of a risk truly is triggering the 'Due on Sale' clauses? I got my own from a local credit union who WILL NOT be repackaging / reselling it. Does this change anything?

- I'm perfectly content with just buying some umbrella insurance and call it a day, but do wonder if doing this would expose me to liabilities against my current business. I'd hate to have some frivulous lawsuit affect my primary work/business, hence my looking into seeing if an LLC's asset protection is worth the cost + time.

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I've asked around for some recommendations on accountants and plan to visit & hire a pro anyways, but wanted to get some additional thoughts and opinions. Thank you all in advance!