All Forum Posts by: Ted Lanzaro

Happy to help.  Thank you, Elio!  Franklyn, you can connect with me if you are interested.  I am doing a class for CTREIA on this in Wethersfield on May 7th also.  You can get information about it by looking up the Facebook Group 'Wholesaling Houses in CT" which is the group sponsoring the event I am speaking at.

Thanks so much, Brian.  That is exactly what I was looking for. 

A client asked me today, "If I am using a self-directed IRA to purchase an investment property, do I have to buy it in an LLC owned by my self-directed IRA or can the IRA purchase the property in its own name. I can think of several reasons why he should use the LLC but I don't know if it is 100% mandatory. Can anyone in this business or an attorney tell me the answer to this question?

Thank you, Mike.  I appreciate your confidence in my services.  Talk soon, Ted

My new book "The Tax Smart Landlord" is now available on Amazon! A must have for real estate investors who want to learn how to legally save thousands of dollars a year on their taxes! Here's the link - http://amzn.to/2rJMKFZ

Hi Rudy, Larry Weinstein in Houston Texas is a very good real estate CPA I know. Check him out. Ted

I am a CPA investor who is an expert in this area having written a book and dozens of articles on it. The answer is it depends! Do you have a lot of other rental income? Are you an active manager of the building or real estate professional or is the building managed by others. Any CPA answering this question would have to know a lot of specifics about you to know is a study will be worthwhile to you. Send a colleague request to me if you would like more info. Ted

No reason to invest in Derby. Just a crappy little industrial town that will never change. New Haven is a much better rental market because of the universities and hospitals which provide jobs for tenants. I would be happy to discuss if you want to send me a colleague request. Hope that helps, Ted

Hi Natalie, The 70% of ARV rule is for when you don't have any of the three key leverage points of rehab. They are: Being a realtor - saves on commission Being a contractor or handy - saves on labor costs of rehab Having all your own $'s - saves on interest costs Anyone who has more of these leverage points than you do can afford to pay more and outbid you. The realtor/contractor couple with money can outbid you every time and still make the same/more profit than you. Your own marketing and follow up - leads that no one else knows about - are the only solution to this problem until/unless you can add more of these leverage points to your own benefit. I know this because I have been where you are now. Hope that helps, Ted

Just my opinion but I have done a lot of direct mail for a number of businesses and you can waste a lot of money on a "shotgun" approach. 5000 postcards might cost you $2000 to print and mail, at least. For $250, you could fill your car with gas 5+ times, drive your town with a pad and make a list of every crappy looking, run down or vacant property. Using the internet or going to town hall, get the addresses of the owners and mail them a simple letter telling them you buy properties. This self compiled list is a much better target and you only end up mailing 100 or so very good targets instead of wasting money mailing regular homeowners who will never discount their properties. Make sense? Hope that helps, Ted