All Forum Posts by: Shannon Richardson

I don't understand why everyone dances around the issue, money supply goes up+demand outweighs supply =value goes down. Not to mention the **** show of global economics.

I'm really surprised nobody is talking about this on here, even 2 years later, I guess everything is a hot topic.

Gold and guns, never fails. Why is nobody talking about this on here by the way?

@Jennifer T. @Anthony Wick I really appreciate your input. The door has the outer layer peeling and whatnot, which I won't contend because I didn't bring it up when I moved in and don't have much ground to stand on, even though I'm being charged due to incompetence of the LL.

Jennifer, would they have to provide some type of proof for witholding from the deposit such as in the case of the bugs or is my only option short of taking it to court to convince them?

Anthony, what I meant by that statement was that there were some kind of bugs in there when I moved in that had bit me, and it seems to reoccur each spring but I had sprayed myself. I did receive a receipt of the treatment, and they had charged me $100 over the amount on the receipt, which I'm also curious if this is something they can do.

I'm tempted to take them to court on principle but I don't think it's really worth it for $700.

@Brynn Jacobs

Hey everyone, this is a question from a renter's perspective. I had a dog at the last place I rented, and when the new tenants moved in they complained to the owner about bug bites. It was something I had dealt with in the past as well but never brought it up as an issue. The landlord had the place treated for fleas, even though I know for a fact there were none, but is taking it out of my security deposit.

This is only one of the charges that I disagree with, but I'm curious if it's legal. What is the best way to dispute disagreed charges, whether it's something like this, or something like a damaged door that could be attributed to wear and tear? 

Hello everyone, I've been having a terrible time finding a plumber for a few different jobs. I started by seeking quotes for replacing two water heaters, got 3 quotes around $750-$1000 apart from each other, and tried to get some more following that for a better idea of what the value of the job actually is. 

I've reached out to several other companies and nobody responds, does anyone have a recommendation of a good plumber in Omaha/Council Bluffs area? Thanks in advance!

@Linda Weygant Thank you for your response, it is extremely helpful! This gives me a much better idea of what to expect later on and I think I'll be able to refine my strategies a little more to navigate my first investment easier. Really appreciate it!

Shannon

We're pretty good with numbers, and investing is really a numbers game!

I just bought a multifamily as a house hack and one useful thing my agent did was get billing data from the utility companies for a time period when the property was fully occupied. Not sure how far back you can go, but this info should be public record and fairly easy to access by just reaching out to your utilities. You could also take your climate into account, if one season will have a much higher energy demand just divide that out across the year. 

I just purchased my first investment as a house hack, with the intent of living there for a year or two, and I am seeking clarification on a few things relating to the accounting side of this. The property is a 3-unit and I'm planning on doing some work to each one over time, in addition to the house itself. If I'm saying anything wrong please correct me, but my understanding is that any repairs or improvements that I perform to my unit will not be tax deductible, but after I convert it to a rental will be wrapped into the property's basis for depreciation. Any repairs that I do on a rental are deductible, and any improvements will be added to the property's basis. Work pertaining to the house itself will be split by a percentage based on occupied space, being deductible or depreciable based on whether it is a repair or improvement respectively. 

To do everything by the book while maximizing my tax benefits, some questions that I have about this are:

-Should I keep separate bookkeeping logs for the rental side of the house and the unit I'll be living in?

-Would non-structural improvements to the unit I'm living in (I.e. updating appliances, flooring, etc.) be on a reduced depreciation schedule, or would it all fall under the 27.5 year schedule of the property? And would that schedule just take off the time I've lived there (26.5 year depreciation if lived in for 1 year)?

-Would the purchase of tools/equipment/materials used to perform work on both sides of the property be split by a %, or would that be fully depreciable under my business?

-Are major capital expenditures (namely roof, furnace, ac, water heater) considered improvements even after they are past their rated lifespan? What if one fails?

-Would it be more beneficial to take care of these capital expenditures after I've moved out?

I'm in the process of looking for a CPA for help on some of this, but any input is greatly appreciated!