All Forum Posts by: Ryan Lamanna

We found a house we’d like to purchase to rent but we’re not confident that we could get top rent in its current condition. Regardless it could be ready and available to rent by year end. Can we cost seg and take bonus depreciation in 2023 and do an extensive remodel in 2024 if it doesn’t rent without jeopardizing ability to depreciate in 2023?

Thank you, but how does the cooperating/procuring broker ensure that he/she gets paid if the listing agreement protects only the listing broker?

If you're a real estate broker/attorney and have thoughts/experience in this area, I welcome your opinion. I showed a client a property that was listed on the MLS. It expired. My client now wants to make an offer on this property. I contacted the owners to ensure that they still want to sell, and they do. The listing brokerage has an active commission protection clause in the listing agreement, which guarantees the listing brokerage a commission. How would you proceed in making an offer on this property and ensure that the cooperating brokerage gets paid?

Thanks, Melissa!

First post in these forums. Really good and informative forums. Amazing community.

It is a longtime dream of mine to flip a property. I recently met a subcontractor who specializes in tile and flooring but is sort of a jack of all trades (including home inspection) and is interested in either partnering up with me and/or doing the majority of the rehab work. Plus, he knows a number of other guys who can do all the things that he cannot. Obviously, we would need to pull permits and hire licensed subs. He is currently doing a small, full bath remodel for me. The work ethic on this guy is incredible. And somehow the quality is even better, and I do not want to lose him to someone else.

Finding good subcontractors who are available, reliable and trustworthy is not easy (where I come from anyway) and is the one thing that has concerned me most about this endeavor. Finding the deals and dollars, etc. are the easy part, as I see it. The tricky part is getting good people to show up, work efficiently, and bring the property back to market in a timely fashion.

Now that I have a committed sub, I am more motivated than ever and ready to take the next step. If I close a deal tomorrow, how and when do I pay him? He already does quite well as a tile sub and frankly really enjoys the work. I would like to build in incentives to make this worthwhile for the reasons stated above. Hourly, fixed fee depending on size and scope, bonuses, profit sharing? I believe in taking care of good people and paying a fair price for services.

Also, I would like to set up an LLC in my name. I have read that it is most tax advantageous to elect S corp status but that C corp status makes fundraising easier in terms of working with lenders. Yes, fundraising is important, but my goal is to maximize profit (limit tax bill) for purposes of reinvesting. My funding sources are a loan from 403b, roth iras, HELOC, portfolio/investor loans, and business credit card. It is time to rotate some of those dollars out of stocks and into real estate as seed money for this new endeavor.

I may be putting the cart before the horse here, as I am looking to try one cosmetic or advanced cosmetic flip to see if it suits me, but given the great fun I have had working with subs on projects on my personal property and my fascination with construction and transforming spaces, I believe that it could easily be something I continue to do. If it proves profitable, it sure beats the heck out of the 9-5 desk job.

Thanks for your good thoughts and advice.