All Forum Posts by: Steve R.

I don't think it will create any equity that you could pull out, but if you are planning on keeping the building, it seems like a good idea. If you are paying heat/air costs, it will reduce the cost and make you happy.  If the tenants are paying, it will reduce their costs and make them happy. It will also be easier to rent in the future when you show potential new tenants the lower utility bills. 

If one of the tenants leave early, I do not give them back their security deposit because they broke the lease by moving out early. I just continue to hold it until the remaining tenant moves out and if there are no issues, I give it to them. I don't see a need to do a walk through as you are retaining the same tenant that you had before.

Your question seems a little vague but I'll see if I can help. Income tax is payed on the profits you make. If your small, you can wait until the end of the year when you have your tax returns prepared and then send Uncle Sam a check. With rentals it is usually pretty minimal because of all the deductions and depreciation. The most important part is to maintain good records. I would start a separate business account that you can run everything through and also use a free on-line accounting program like Wave to keep your expenses organized by property.

@Rick Lucette Have the one that's leaving sign the release form and sign a new lease with the spouse that is staying.  This is the one I use.

If you're willing to be a landlord, I would definitely sell it and reinvest in properties that cash flow nicely.  You have a lot of potential profit sitting there, which if you have lived there 2 out of the last 5 years, is tax free to you.

I have done this several times. I would have the one moving out sign a RELEASE OF RIGHTS TO POSSESSION form so that you don't have any problems in the future with him. 

@David Moore@Tom Gimer Thank you. I live a few hours away now but I'll make a trip up and talk to the neighbors. I'll update to let you all know how this turns out.

Thank you everyone for your input so far. It looks like the neighbor has a mortgage on his property. Has anyone had any luck with a bank signing a release so that a piece of the land can be sold?

I haven't informed the neighbors because I don't have a solution to offer them. I hired an attorney 3 weeks ago but he has not come up with any solutions. I  would like to switch attorneys, because I feel he isn't giving this much effort, but that is hard also because I don't know how deep he is into my pocket. 

I purchased this property in 2011 from a bank as a foreclosure. It is in the country and has a couple acres. I lived in it for a couple of years and then rented it for the last 5. This year I decided to sell, so I fixed it up, put it on the market, and got an offer. The only thing the guy wanted was a survey so I figured, why not? Well, that opened up a big can of worms. According to the survey, the house, the buildings, the driveway, the septic, all of it is on the neighbors land. I've talked to my title person, county assessor, real estate attorney, and any body else I think may know what to do, and no one has been able to give me any advice that I can act on. I'm going to lose this sale if I can't get this straightened out. Do any of you in MN know what actions need to be taken to get this straightened out?