All Forum Posts by: Rik Hunter

Where my duplex is in Hixson, the property values are going up and up, and so are the rents. My street was pretty rough 20 years ago—according to the neighborhood long-timers, but things have over the last decade. A house down the street was just rehabbed and flipped (5 offers on day 1, and I imagine, well over the asking price). If only I had the cash to buy up the entire neighborhood . . . I'd manage it myself.

Hi, Daniel. I'm in the same boat. Got a lead from the local real estate investor facebook group, but I never got a call back. Then I cold-called another firm, but they basically said I was too small-time for them (just one duplex). I've searched the forums and plan to call

https://newlintax.com/profile/ and https://www.jhmcpa.com/about. Another that I've found on my own is http://ruhlingcpas.com/contact....

I saved lots of money doing a most of the rehab myself. Luckily, with my 1987 duplex, the most complex electrical work was adding an outlet in the crawlspace and plumbing was replacing a PRV. It took me longer than I would have liked with a FT W-2 job, but I learned what (not) to do on my current rehab. 

Congrats! I'd love to get one set up here in Chattanooga in a year or so. 

Hi, Felix. What type of property? A SFH that you'll be renting out rooms in or a MFH that's 2-4 units?

Congrats! Such a great story. We're just rookies, with a Chattanooga duplex and SFH that we've started rehabbing. I'd love to expand into STRs, so thank you for sharing!

Agreed. I had a terrible time finding serious renters who would show up when using Facebook. Zillow worked best for me.

Hello! @Joey Wilson

TLDR: Buy a duplex. Live in one side. (A VA, BRRRR-ish story)

I'm trying to figure out my 3rd! But what might help some here from my experience is how I got to my modest level. 

My current situation: I have a (previously house-hacked) duplex and now a SFH that I'm rehabbing. Becoming an investor was easy for me because I was too poor to not be! Really, I couldn't find a SFH in my budget that didn't need to be gutted, and because I was using a VA loan, it had to pass the VA appraisal process.

So I switched to multifamily and lucked out with getting the second duplex I looked at. The tenant on one side covered the mortgage, taxes, and insurance, and I could focus my money on rehab. I can't think of a better first experience (except for the tenant's some time live-in boyfriend, baby-daddy felon). 

The second property came from walking the dogs. We were finishing up the rehab of the duplex side we didn't live in and saw that a house about 5-6 doors away was up for sale. We checked it out, and loved everything but it's need for smoker remediation. Walking back a couple doors, when ran into the corner lot neighbor who was putting his FSBO sign out to take advantage of the traffic. We talked, walked through the house, and made an offer.

This was another VA loan, so it took about a month to close. After moving in, I rehabbed the duplex side we had been living in. Now I'm working in the SFH. Getting another property is going to be tricky.

1) I had already refinanced the duplex before finishing all the rehab. The rates (beginning of Covid) were too good to pass up with all the equity sitting there from 5.5 years). That funded completing the rehab and closing on the SFH. Now that it's done (November), I can't refi as a VA loan because it's not my primary residence.

2) I'll have to complete rehab on the SFH, refi it as a VA loan and use to refi the duplex as a commercial loan (I think).

3) Then I may be able to go get another property using a VA loan as long as it's my primary residence.

4) Then rent out the SFH.

It's not your standard BRRRR, but you work with what you'v got.

The backstory is that I bought a duplex in 2014, and I've taken depreciation on something at some point in some way in TurboTax, lol. This year I did lots of rehab, mostly interior, and I've been trying to be much better at bookkeeping.

Since April, I've rehabbed both unit, included new appliances, and I just finished "The Book on Tax Strategies." I knew the chapter on depreciation would be important, but I'm still a little confused, and I'm pretty sure I'll need to find a REI-friendly tax specialist this year.

But basically, while taking depreciation on the building, how do you also take depreciation on items like appliances and flooring?