All Forum Posts by: Samantha Magina

I need more information. Carpeted or wood and tile? Is it a good seal coat on the wood? Can she put down her own carpets to limit scratching to the wood from nails (seriously, dog nails are brutal if they even get a little too long). 4 dogs are a lot in one unit, but if she's a trainer I'd assume that she a) kennels all dogs when not home b) has a no bark policy. You would have a loyal tenant in that there are limited options to move to other units. Major concerns would be dealing with their impact on other tenants if a multi unit and possibly insurance issues (but that wouldn't be a question for BP users, but for your insurance agent). I'd also confirm that she is in fact a paid trainer, not that this is a side hobby. 

If it's overpriced, then it's overpriced. I suppose you could explain to them your offer is based on comps in the are. I wouldn't base it on THEIR purchase price because that has no bearing on its current value. If your market research has comps at 1/2 the price of theirs then all you can do is put in your offer and still request seller financing.

AMT will impact your schedule A deductions such as real estate taxes on your primary residence. It will not impact your Schedule E deductions. Higher income will remove your opportunity to take the up to 25 k loss against ordinary income but if you aren't currently using that loss then your tax situation relative to your rental real estate will continue on. You will get pushed to a higher tax bracket overall when you combine incomes. However, possible real world positive implications would be using your wife's name/income to qualify for some of your mortgages increasing the number you can have, or boost your buying power on a mortgage you both cosign. I feel like that would outweigh possible tax impacts. Finally, AFTER April 17th, any CPA would be happy to run your 2016 tax numbers as though you were hypothetically married to show you the actual tax impact (consider their fee wealth & tax planning, which it is). Seriously though, don't ask anyone to do this for the next 3 weeks ;).

At my start of getting into rental real estate (prior to discovering Bigger Pockets unfortunately) I found a duplex property in a better town 20 min closer on the commuter rail to Boston. I had planned to buy the duplex and renovate while living in my single family home that I currently owned. Then I planned to either rent or sell that single family property depending on what the spring/ summer market looked like after we moved into the duplex. Mortgage underwriters said no shot of the FHA mortgage on the new property without my current house being under contract because they didn't believe I ever planned to move into the second property. Improved distance to work and lower cost of living didn't compare to having a single family with a garage apparently. My LOE was excellent and it didn't matter. I was too inexperienced and failed to continue shopping around, sold my single family THEN lost the duplex because it failed to appraise. Then I discovered Bigger Pockets and started learning about real estate, luckily now I have an excellent case for buying a quadplex bc I've been stuck in rental mode for a year and a half. There's a few mortgage folks on here and hopefully they can give you some feedback on how to qualify for you FHA financing.

There was one snack dab in the middle of the city too, but if the NW quadrant is the war zone then yes, it may be a bit of a challenge. There would always be the option of going a bit outside the dory as well.

First step, find a mortgage lender (or two!)and have some conversations. They will be able to tell you exactly where you stand to get an fha loan. Also research low income mortgage options on Minnesota to see if there are any government programs to help you. A quick search of Minneapolis (disclaimer: I have no idea about good/ bad areas) and a few two families popped up for under 200k, which you could get into with 10k in cash and split the cost of the hack with the other unit AND establish yourself as a landlord. Do you have other debt? How's your credit score? Credit score impacts your PMI, which will impact your overall payment. Can you get a roommate to reduce your housing costs in the short term? I would also wonder if you can get your lender to do a 15 year repayment so that on paper your monthly liabilities are less (you just keep paying your $1100, but your required payment is smaller for the banks calculations of debt to equity). Good luck!

It depends what you are looking for in a quadplex I suppose, I have 2 kids and my husband works remotely , while I still work in Boston. So our needs make it so our minimum is 2 bed/1 bath and relatively close to a commuter rail (which I prefer anyway for investing purposes) and I certainly don't want to be living in the biggest/nicest unit on the property and eating up rental revenue. So yeah, an 8 bed/4 bath could cost 500k in the lower cost areas south of Boston.

Best of luck! I'm also working on finding quadplex in MA but south of Boston. I'm pre-approved up to 500k, so it'll be a little tight in this market but I'm actively searching and trying to add to my savings as every bit of down payment will boost the possible purchase price.

Basically anything except the principal portion of the mortgage (or any loan associated with the real estate) is deductible. The principal is not deductible because you will take depreciation on the property instead.

If you tear down the house, then your entire purchase price and the demolition of the dwelling become a land asset. Land is not depreciable. Only the new building you put up will get depreciation for tax purposes. I have no input on this strategy, I just know it becomes land if you do a full demo.