All Forum Posts by: Tom D.

Thanks so much, Dell! I was getting estimates for gas conversion recently (actually for a boiler) and it seems like I really need to work on whittling down my costs.

Is that a typo? I'd love to hear more about getting a new gas furnace installed for under $2,000.

OP, can you at least get the guy's name and city? With that, we could look up the court case to get the details. Otherwise, it sounds like the agent could have just told you a 'friend of a friend' story.

Thanks for the link!

Is your install for the room heat too, or just the faucets? I see references online to 'whole house' tankless electric heaters, but often they're referring to multiple bathrooms/kitchens, not the actual room heat, which is what I'm trying to find out more about.

If so, why did you choose electric tankless? Is it because of high efficiency, or is it just less hassle than fossil fuels? I'd appreciate any info you can give.

I have a rental unit that is overdue for a new furnace. The old one runs on oil and heats the house and the hot water.

It seems like high oil prices are here to stay. I could replace it with a natural gas one, but I'm concerned about safety issues. (And who know can predict how long natural gas will stay cheap?)

I've heard about these new hot water heaters that are electric and tankless - the water is heated 'on-demand'. I can't find a lot of good info about them online but I'm interested in learning more.

The rental unit's heat is from hot water running through radiators, it's hydronic. So I'm wondering, has anyone used one of these tankless units for the entire heating system, not just the hot water faucets?

Yes, Dave, you've hit on it. My father was a teacher for many years, which had its own pension plan and did not pay into social security. (As far as I know, he no longer has any life insurance, and only a small savings.) Plus, my mother stayed home to raise us kids instead of working. If my father passes first, my mother will be living on very little each month.

My parents asked me to meet with their lawyer, and I found out the issue. He was giving the best and simplest recommendation to THEM, not to me, which was immediate transfer of the property. He didn't recommend a trust because it costs more, but he will now set up an irrevocable trust for me.

Thanks for all the input, I greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for all the feedback!

My main concern is this: if my father passes first, my mother will only have a very small social security pension (and the house). If she eventually needs to go into a nursing home, correct me if I'm wrong, but Medicaid will then take her assets, and 'look back' 5 years to recover anything transferred away.

My parents recently went through a lot to keep the house, and now they tell me they absolutely want me to get it, so I think I should take steps to protect it. I don't mind having it in my name, but I told them about my concern. They talked to a lawyer, however I think they just went with the simplest choice - doing an immediate transfer (with an umbrella policy for protection).

I was hoping someone here had gone through the same thing. It hasn't been signed over yet, so I'm asking BiggerPockets, and I greatly appreciate all your input. It looks like it'll be a good idea to contact a lawyer in my area that specializes in elder care, and then I'll post a follow-up. Thank you all again!

Well, I didn't meet with the lawyer myself, and he doesn't know me. He briefly discussed living trusts and LLCs with my parents, but they decided on immediate transfer to me personally, probably because it was the simplest.

I know that real estate investors generally don't keep a lot of assets in their own name, to limit liabilities. What if I have a tenant that sues, or if a future investment goes sour? I want to be absolutely sure my parents can stay in this house for the rest of their lives.

So, hopefully someone on this forum has gone through the same thing and can share the experience. Has anyone used a living trust or an LLC for this?

My parents have made a will leaving me their home. They're in relatively good health, however, I've read horror stories of families losing homes to medicare. So, I asked them to meet with a lawyer, thinking a living trust would be the way to go. To my surprise, he recommends just transferring it to me right now, with protection by way of a one million dollar umbrella policy.

Any suggestions? I'm unfamiliar with elder law, and I'm not a big RE investor, I just own my own duplex right now. Has anyone here dealt with a similar situation that can share some advice?

Thanks for the response! I'd like to complain, but I'm not "in the know", HUD is not in my area of expertise. I see these homes bought during the first 10 days, but then there's no longer any info on the website. Is there some way to absolutely verify that they were bought as owner-occupied before I go shoot my mouth off to HUD?