All Forum Posts by: Robi Hawley

Vinyl planks, hands down. I'm investing in upper middle homes and scanning hundreds of home pics daily. The minute I see carpet or laminate I now automatically start zoning out and add 10K to my remodel estimate.

Check out Northwest Justice Project : Your Rights as a Tenant in Washington State. And meanwhile realize that you don't want a relationship with these owners, trying to force them to abide by the agreement will just lead to more stress and disappointment. It sounds as though they are inexperienced landlords (I just accepted my first renter today on our family home, my 18 and 20 year old kids are depressed and quiet, my husband has been glued to the T.V. since the renters left and I'm definitely feeling very sad and unsure of my new investing strategy!) Giving up a family home can be traumatic BUT they've left you in a bad spot and they need to return your deposit immediately. I hope they make things right for you and I hope you find a place much better suited for you.

If your goal is to protect your personal assets and segregate your investments then use a combination of LLC's and not an S-Corp. If faced with a lawsuit any halfway decent attorney will be able to easily pierce the corporate veil on an S-Corp that is not professionally managed. You will then have paid much more in fees over the years and reap no benefits.

As for your office deduction, if you are using an accountant to do your taxes (not a bookkeeper or chain tax prep service) then take the deduction. If the person preparing your return DOESN'T advise you to take it or says it is risky then walk out and find a real accountant. The accountant will easily handle the depreciation aspect when you sell your home and with the vast majority of primary home sales the depreciation does not even enter the picture. Home offices stopped raising red flags years ago. Recognizing the huge increase in home-based offices and businesses, the IRS even simplified the deduction in 2015 to allow more at home workers to claim it. You can claim $5 a square foot, up to 300 sq. ft. and not have to calculate every single utility, expense etc. per portion. A good accountant is one of the best investments you can make in your business, what they save you will more than cover their fee. 

Yes, the price we're asking is $500 less than the management company will list it at, I just deducted their fees from their suggested price. I think more expensive properties have a smaller renter pool? One agency I spoke to said that we have a lot of young professionals here or those that will be relocating in a few years and don't want to purchase but want to live in an upscale home. Bellingham is a very weird market. 😄 I haven't even listed the new home yet because we want to do some work on it and I've already got people wanting to rent it (college kids and single people wanting roommate situation, they approached the seller and he gave them our contact info) - 1/2 the square footage and no upscale features, but it is a lovely historic home in downtown area.

Oh Yvette, good point, I didn't even think of that. We just can't afford to have a major loss at this point. Thank you.

Thanks so much! Yes I did list it on hotpads and both of these groups found me there. I guess my real struggle is that the Michigan guy is a 32 yr. old disabled vet, his wife receives vet benefits and so does the father. I really really want to rent to them even though I really like the other people (similar age, background, interests etc.) I'm going to follow your advice, my realtor owns hundreds of rentals and he just called. When I explained it to him he also said exactly what you guys are saying, my heart belongs to the vet though (my son is a disabled vet). 

Thanks again, my husband and I are really nervous and I so appreciate Bigger Pockets. The first expense my new LLC is going to incur is a Pro upgrade!

Hi! I was hoping you could give me advice on deciding between two renters. I'm closing on my first investment property in three weeks. We are trying to rent out our current home and plan to move into the new house. We did owner financing on the new place so we need a rental agreement signed by the end of next week or the deal might fall through. Our current home is an executive type home and is going for a premium rental price. Only two people have shown interest in the past week (I was going to list it with an agency on Tuesday due to holiday) and both are in similar circumstances. They are both extended family units with three adult renters and several children/grandchildren. Two of the three adults pass the credit check and one does not (divorce in both cases). The main party responsible for the bills (3x income compared to rent) has good credit. The other adult has excellent credit but only has 2 times the income. The third adult in each case (one a brother, the other a sister) has poor credit and 1/2 the income. My dilemma is this: one group looked at the house Monday and called me back yesterday to see it again today. In the meantime the other group called me Wednesday, I took a bunch of pictures and they said they'd take it sight unseen, they are moving here from Michigan and will arrive Monday or Tuesday. They had already arranged for temporary housing before they saw my ad and were planning on traveling. I offered them the opportunity to pay deposit online and sign agreement but they said they'd do it when they get here. The group moving here also wants to pay first and deposit only. The group wanting to sign lease tomorrow will pay first,last and security deposit. Do I have to wait until Wednesday to lease to them? Thank you for your help.

Robi

This post really saddens me. You were stuck between a rock and a hard place, you took a long time to make your decision, and right or wrong you finally get to move forward. This is one of those situations where you are wrong no matter what you do  (you shouldn't be an enabler, you owe your wife and kids financial security and a husband/father not distracted with negativity, a good relationship with your parents is important to your psyche) so you need to know you tried, did your best, and work on forgiving yourself. Keep malice out of your next moves with your parents and try to re-establish a healthy relationship with them. If you can, help them move into their new place. Just keep repeating that you love them, want them in your life, but the former situation was too toxic for you. I wish you good luck.