All Forum Posts by: Cody Lown

Hi all,

I purchased a two-unit home a few years ago as my primary residence with a conventional loan, and was told by an accountant that there is no reporting or extra tax forms I need to file as long as my tenant in the upstairs unit is paying less than the total of my mortgage. The more I learn, the more I think they may not be the case, and I'm curious if I need to go back and amend any taxes from previous years to ensure I am following all regulations.

The details:

-two-unit home that was converted from a SFH by a previous owner.

-both units share the same address. I have had an internet provider require me to specify "Upr" or "lwr", but in general, just the one number.

-the tenant is a friend of mine, and I believe his car and address for employment and bills is still listed at his parents' house a few cities over. 

-he pays $550 of the $930 mortgage, and half of the utilities, which are not split, and are in my name. 

am I overreacting, or do I need to do some damage control on the tax front?

Hi,
I've got a general question that I could not find on here. I apologize if it has been asked previously. Generally speaking, if a rental owner decides to end his/her professional relationship with a property management company at the end of the tenant's lease, who deals with the security deposit? Does the property management company assess the house, and fix damages, and then return the leftover money to the tenant, or does the property management company sign over the security deposit to the home owner, and they deal with it?
Each company could handle it differently, however I wanted to see what some of the experienced investors have to say about what protocol is in this situation.
Thanks,
C

Thanks for the great posts.
Jon H,
I am familiar with the 50% rule and was using that as my guide. So, 1) Check. 2) While maybe not as high of demand as some places, it appears that houses on the east side of Lansing (closer to MSU) are not vacant very long. So, semi-check. 3) Some work still needs to be done here. This area will not appreciate, just as another poster said. So that won't bail me out. Furthermore, I have not been able to find comps for the area. And from what I have read here, using county data is not accurate. Thank you for making it very clear what makes a good deal.
Ned,
I didn't think about the functioning, yet old point. They very well could have a furnace or roof that will need to be replaced within a year or two.
These posts have confirmed what I already thought: I need to ask more questions and do some more research. I am going to continue to pursue an understanding of this market and possibly invest here.
Thanks for the help,
Cody

Hi,
I have been reading the forums here, and been learning as much as possible for awhile now. I am interested in long-term cashflowing rental property investments. I am moving to Lansing, MI for graduate school, and have recently been looking at places there. I am somewhat familiar with the area already, and have been getting better acquainted. My main question is: It appears that there are hundreds of homes for sale in the Lansing area that would cashflow a lot of money (relatively speaking of course). Many of them, at market rent, would be well over 3 or 4 times PITI. I am talking about rent ready homes, not handyman specials. Resources I use: homes.com, rentometer.com, Ingham County website, craigslist.com, etc. I am factoring location, proximity to downtown and Michigan State University, population decay etc. Can someone please fill me in. I am obviously missing something. Please take into account the fact that I have yet to own real estate, am not yet an investor, rather a young person wanting to learn as much as possible before jumping in after school.

Jeff,

Thanks for the insight. I am interested in reading that article. As a previous poster mentioned, maybe I am over-thinking it.

Cody

George,

I am interested to know why you think I am over-thinking. I may very well be doing so, but I'm not sure. Do you assume that it will work itself out by then? I believe that birth rates will continue to stay low and college attendance for graduating high school students will continue to rise. Do you just expect that to even out and be fine?

Rob,

thanks for the advice. Would you consider it a mistake to enter rentals right away, or just something that could be helpful to have experience with the market first? I could be overlooking the importance of liquidity. At my age, I don't see it as being extremely important right now. Maybe I am completely overlooking it.

Cody

I wasn't talking about race. My post didn't refer to race. My post referred to American citizens (white, black, asian, latino, anyone). The fact is that the overall birth rate for American citizens is down. So, is there concern for people who would like to own rentals in college towns? Of course the rate of high school graduates who attend college will be higher than it is today, but will that make up for it?

As a young person wanting to enter real estate investment in the very near future, I am trying to carve out an area to learn the most and focus on. I am interested in buy and hold rentals, particularly in college towns and or college town sized cities. Seeing that I am 20, should I be concerned about the fact that birth rates in the US have declined recently, most likely due to the economy. I believe it will pick back up a little bit. Should I be concerned that there will be a surplus of empty homes in college towns in 15-20 years? Am I thinking too much about this?
Cody

Ophelia,

Thanks for the tips. That is definitely something to think about. Unfortunately, my job would likely not be in my degree. I am getting a Geography degree. I would either be committing to a 2 year teaching job or be in grad school. So, although I may be teaching geography, I don't think it would apply. I agree that it would be more satisfying to have it on my own. My future beyond undergrad really isn't decided and won't be decided until about February, but these are definitely things to be thinking about. Thanks Ophelia

Cody