All Forum Posts by: Stephen Shelton

I would avoid Holly Hill, Daytona's ghetto, like the plague because the oldest profession seems to be a major profession there if you know what I mean.

The Daytona area is a bit or of my way, and my brother-in-law had frequently complained about finding a nice property that turns out to be in Holly Hill.

Nearby Ormond Beach and Port Orange seem like nice communities in comparison.

I would imagine most people looking to rent have some sort of issue with finances otherwise they'd buy a place, but I know people from some areas just have the mindset that a home is just something you rent. I have a tenant from NYC and she's mentioned that renting is just what she's used to.

It does seem like she's offering a good deal to alleviate your fears, but like others have mentioned dealing with the nonsense the government imposes between such an agreement between two consenting adults might make it a PITA, and if she's a skillful mooch in an anti-landlord state she may be trying to bait you into a problem.

Also on my last house I reached the point where I bought remotes for the garage door opener to replace those lost by the previous owner. 

In my garage was my nice $600 table saw and on the FIRST DAY of having remote access to the door I shut the door when I left. I remembered something, opened the door to run back in, and then I returned to my truck and drive off without closing it.

This was also a rare time when I did not return for 2 days, but when I came back nothing was touched. Neighbors FTW! It's nice knowing that the person in the neighborhood who would have stolen something was the one that used to live in that house and got a new home rooming with Bubba in the big house with fancy metal bars.

I've always covered my windows.  At first I tapped drop cloths over the windows with finish nails complete with fancy little folds, but on my last house I used that white  painters' plastic and taped it to the exact shape of the glass. It let light in, it allowed for easy access to open the windows, and I didn't have to deal with cloths falling down (a problem with sliding glass doors). It's cheap and lasts.

Great thanks! I knew thinks like depreciation and mileage come into play, but I was really curious about the taxable aspects of those key things (principal, mortgage interest, property taxes, and insurance).

Months ago I thought that at the end of the year I should pay as much as possible on principal to reduce my income while simultaneously paying back something I have to pay anyway, and then it hit me that this probably wouldn't work.

Also if I have that $2000 in profit, are there any tax advantages to putting that all towards paying off principal before the end of the year?

I have a question on what gets taxed when it comes to rental income.  Of course there are loads of other factors but I'm looking for general answers for someone living in the US without state income taxes.

For example, say I have a single-family home bought for the purpose of being a rental property that works as follows:

Rent: $1000 month / $12,000 annual

And it breaks down like this:

$2000 - property tax

$2000 - insurance

$2000 - mortgage principal

$2000 - mortgage interest

$2000 - repairs

$2000 - unused/profit

Which pieces are taxed? Would the property taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and repairs be considered untaxable business expenses? 

I assume the final unused/profit $2000 would be taxed like regular income, but what about the mortgage principal?  Since it represents owning the renter buying me a piece of the property itself is it considered income?

Thanks for some clarity

Another 6'2" poster here and I would not live in a house with ceilings that low, but surely someone out there would have no issue with it.  A friend of mine back home bought a 1920s house like this, he's probably 6' but he had no issue with it but then he liked old houses.  I hated it because I would hit my head on pitches of 2nd story rooms and the ceiling above the little landing near the bottom of the stairs was probably about 5'6".  As for building codes, I know government has little respect for property rights, but I would find it hard to believe that this would not be considered grandfathered. 

My thoughts are going elsewhere.  A house with a bad old design like that screams that other issues are likely like terrible wiring, an ancient electric panel, aluminum wires, asbestos, lead paint, bad plumbing, and a creepy Norman Bate-style basement.