All Forum Posts by: Mike B.

If you have at least 25-50K available, you could be a silent investor with a reputable REI firm in your area. Unsure where you're located though, but I'm sure there's plenty out there to choose from

Depends on your area - i never place signs on the property as I'm concerned it also tells people the home is vacant and thus damage could be done.  I've always just advertised on FB, Craigslist and Hotpads/Zillow and had great success.  Never used a sign

Unsure if I fully understand what you're asking.  But.. to house hack your 2nd place.. live in your first property at least 2 years to avoid capital gains tax.  Then sell your 1st property, or buy your 2nd one and after renovations you could refinance into a personal home mortgage loan however in order to do this.. I'm 99% sure you need your original (1st home) under contract (for sale).  Hope this answers your question. 

You can otherwise purchase property #2 as an investment, live in it and then sell your 1st home a year or so later.  Just make sure to avoid capital gains tax you live in the home for 2 of the past 5 years.  Would also speak with a CPA about tax strategies. 

you can refinance all you want but when you go to sell the property, your CPA (and IRS) will look at your total gain.  That is the sale price minus all the money you invested.  So if you buy a house for $100K and put in $50K of renovation.  Then you sell it a few years later for $500K... you are taxed on the GAIN (minus depreciation) which is $500K - $150K - depreciation and anything else you renovated on the property or can claim as a loss.  Speak with a CPA to see your potential tax liability 

would definitely consult an attorney as this is a very unique situation.  It's nice they're paying rent but they aren't the people on the original lease, so I would be curious if you could tell them to move everything out within 30 days (seems like a reasonable amount of time to collect belongings).  You could even offer to remove the remaining things they don't want in an effort to help move them along.  Would definitely seek legal advice to be on the safe side though 

@Cass Lowrie speak with a knowledgeable CPA about Opportunity Zone Funds! I’m considering that now for a rental property I have. Limited window.. best deal out of it is to put money into an OZF in 2019. There are restrictions etc but read up on it and if you think you qualify speak with a CPA.

@Kien Gallwey-Grant - instead of moving kitchen and bath.. can you just add a bedroom to the rear of the building? Most 3 bedroom row homes have that 3rd bedroom by building a 2nd floor rear addition (either solo or above a kitchen, etc on 1st floor)

from what I've learned with other properties.. if you're already doing a gut.. just get rid of it and put in brand new.  Get a better R value perhaps. Or maybe in pulling it you find another issue you can easily fix.  I would toss it all and put in all brand new insulation.  Also a selling point down the road that "all insulation is new" in the property (you should advertise this as well)

I don't recall where I've read it but I do know for a very small sized area of mold you are not required to hire a professional remediation expert and you can do it yourself. Would google and try to find the code for Philadelphia.  You could present that to the buyer and state you'll remove it, or instruct them to do it. 

@Ashish Acharya - look through some of my old forum posts of properties I've renovated.  I usually have to add a closet to 1-2 bedrooms everytime I rehab.  I have done this to small rooms.  First when evaluating the room, determine where you likely would place a bed.  Let's say it's a smaller room.. 8x8 for example.  Usually if the door to the room is towards one corner (vs. in the middle of a wall) I place the closet on a corner closer to the door.  This way, the door opens and is near the closet, leaving the rest of the space to hold the bed (or a desk, etc).  

Here's one writeup I did: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/522/topics/568803-new-brrrr-property-south-philly-west-passyunk