All Forum Posts by: Sabrina Savinski

@Brandon Hall

Is it acceptable to replace a few (4-6) windows each year in order to stay under the $2500 per year threshold? It would take 3-5 years to replace them all this way but they would eventually be done without having to depreciate them over the 27.5 years.

@Ashish Acharya super helpful and exactly what I was looking for! thank you so much. 

@Wayne Brooks My question is, if we do them while we live in the unit, can I write off the depreciation later?

I am currently house hacking and occupy nearly 50% of the square footage. Our unit is also going to be the primary rental unit when we move out and will pull in the majority of the income. 

Our unit has been kind of run down by previous long term tenants. We are doing a lot of small repairs this year while we live here but I have been putting off any more expensive items until we move out, under the assumption that once we move out, we can write off the cost of those items (example, window replacement).

Is there a trick for making these major improvements now- but with the ability to write off some of the expense? Or does it make sense to just wait? 

I know with the new laws, it is easier to write off improvements in the current year, so I am inclined to wait and take the full write off next year when we turn it into a rental. But curious how others are handling rehab costs for their house hacks. Thanks!

@Laticia Braxton I do have a copy of the invoice but it's a great idea to reach out to them directly for some more context around what took place. The invoice says upon replacing the screen they found the sash balances were broken and replaced those as well. Not sure how expensive that would normally be but definitely doesn't seem like an emergency to me and doesn't explain why we weren't contacted. The repairs actually took place over 3 visits in a three week timeframe. 

They claimed this was an emergency in case someone fell out the window- any ideas if that would hold up in court? It was a second floor window and the screen was ripped but not missing.

@Russell Brazil the property is in Frederick, I believe the management company works across a larger area in MD and WV.

Looking for advice on how to handle a negative relationship with our property management company. We have been pretty unhappy with their services for the entire time we've been working with them, but they do the bare minimum- they found a tenant, we get paid every month and a statement in the mail. The quality and demeanor of the service has been inadequate IMO but nothing to fire them over.

Recently, we received a bill for almost $1000 for repairing a window screen. This repair took place over the course of 3 weeks and we received no communication about it and were never asked to approve the expense. Our contract places a $500 limit on unauthorized expenses unless it's an emergency. When I asked to have a conversation about it, the owner of the company insisted that this was an emergency repair. She was extremely rude and actually told me that I should end the agreement- by buying out the rest of the contract (pay them 100% of their fee for the remaining 10 months on the lease).

Does anyone have an experience like this? Is it worth fighting over? Or should we just eat the fee and go separate ways? The property is in Maryland if that helps at all. Appreciate anyone's advice or sharing similar experiences and how they were resolved.

@Shane P. did you find any other info on using cozy and having the tenant pay the credit and background check? We are using cozy for online payments with inherited tenants but are about to do our first screening to fill a vacancy.

Hi Sue, did you ever find an answer on this? I am not finding a lot of clear information on the requirements for exterior. 

Thanks everyone, this was helpful and consistent with some other things I was able to find online. Looks like the key is to count from the date the rental became available, expenses prior to that date I listed as depreciable improvements. We will be going to a local meetup soon and asking for CPA recommendations.