All Forum Posts by: Robert Curls

@Brandon Hall That was an amazing response!  Thank you!

A follow up question, if I do fall under one of the three safe harbors, does that then qualify the expense to be deductible?

Also on the UOP, if I understand you correctly because this is an SFR and it is a single AC system and I'm restoring service to it, its not considered a deduction?

Thanks again.

Hello Pinellas County BP'ers.  

Any local CPA or Attorney members out there?  I'm a technologist by trade with over 15 years experience in Enterprise IT, IT consulting, Cloud computing and an extensive resume that includes a tenure working at Microsoft. 

I've been able to establish relationships with various professionals over the years that have proven to be mutually beneficial.  Its always nice to have "a guy" in various lines of work that you can call on time to time looking for some advice, or send referrals to.

These two fields happen to be ones that have escaped me over the years and I'd love to find someone who shares a mutual interest in REI.

I'll buy coffee or lunch.

Rob

Hello BP!

I know I should seek the advice of a competent CPA or Tax attorney, but I wanted to get some opinions of others prior.  I understand you aren't giving tax or legal advice, so the disclaimer is out there.

I have some expenses that I need to take care of on some rental properties and wanted to see your thoughts if these fall under the categories of repairs (thus deductible) or if it was a capital improvement.

A/C: I "repaired" the compressor earlier this year when it went out, total cost was $2,500 would this be an improvement or a repair?

Treework:  I need to have some trees trimmed, my thoughts on this would be opex and a deduction

New carpet: This one I know is a capital improvement and must be amortized.

New Pool pump: I'm assuming capex also.

Thanks everyone!

Hi Steve,

Pickings are slim in Pinellas, at least for good deals in my eyes.  Its funny, the CA investors are looking to Tampa because they can't get returns they want, now I'm looking to other markets because I can't get the returns here :)

@Elihu Bogan I'm curious, Why Tampa?  If you're looking to buy and hold and you're going to do it from across the country, why wouldn't you look at locations in the mid-west that are "easier" to come by that get better returns?  

Are you truly looking for cashflow? or are you betting on appreciation? 

@Kirsten Sorenson  What is the asking price?

What are the rents the tenants are currently paying?

Can the landlord provide a trailing 12?

You mention $5k in repairs but then say it doesn't need any repairs???

Thanks

We allow dogs in our SFRs, but not in our duplex. The SFRs have fenced in yards, where the duplex doesn't. I feel that we are able to get a little higher rents because we allow them. I'm not a fan of cats though, in fact I was looking at a property today that as soon as we opened the door, you were about knocked over by the smell of cat urine.

Nikko,

Forget wholesaling, use those VA benefits to get yourself a quad plex and house hack your way to 16 units.

Welcome to BP.

@Ryan Harthan Tampa is a pretty big area, the market can vary drastically from one neighborhood to the next.  Where specifically are you planning on landing?  I'm over in North Pinellas, I'd be happy to get together to show you around town.

Rob

Dan,

Check with local banks, ask to speak with their commercial lending department.  You'll probably have to go through several before you find one that will work with you on this.  I would avoid the "big boys" on this.