All Forum Posts by: Vicki M.

Is there a way to get the Schedule E for more than one year to see if the expenses are the same the previous year?

Ace A. I would like to make one comment regarding your list. Lots of people DO NOT like to read and won't read. I have learned this in my vacation cabin business when people left the trash out on the porch (where the bears took it and spread it around each night) instead of reading down my information list as to where to put the trash. Try to keep it as short as possible and what ever is most important, put at the top. You can also highlight in bold the heading for each category so they can quickly skim, or, if the document is longer, a mini "Table of Contents" at the top of your list. We have a lot of Non-English speakers in our area and I had trouble with them not only not reading what I sent them, but also pretending to understand when they really didn't.

WelcomeRuss Wiese- I too came to Bigger Pockets as someone with vacation rentals. I have 3 cabins between Estes Park and Lyons in colorado ( I used to have 7 cabins-but that is a long story in itself!). I would be interested in some networking-maybe find out what sites you advertise on etc. and where you get your best results. My cabins stay pretty booked, though it seems there has been a cosmic shift lately with people that use google words and location based ads (i.e.yelp) that some vacation rentals have a harder time taking advantage of.

Thank you@steven Hamilton II. I would not have thought the IRS was that lenient. Since the language for the 1031 exchange specifies that you must exchange "Like" properties-business property for business property and rental property for rental property and farm property for farm property-are you assuming that a personal residence held to increase in value has now converted to a rental, but not a business property or other property? I defer to your knowledge base, but I would still think you would need to show a little more intent to convert it to a rental before trading it for a rental than simply holding it to increase in value. But maybe I'm wrong.

Judy, my experience from reading everything about the 1031 exchanges, and I have done three of them myself, is that a primary residence that has not been converted in use to a rental property is still a primary residence. To show the conversion to a rental you would need to have removed all personal possessions, advertised it for rent and no longer have personal use associated with it-i.e. is personal mail still received there or has a change of address for the owner been made? Since you can also hold personal property with the anticipation that it will increase in value before selling it, simply holding it while it increases in value doesn't by itself convert it to an investment property. Another thing the IRS will look at is whether you actually filed Schedule E for the property.

Reduce Your Risk, Use An Estoppel Agreement (Free Form Included)
by KEVIN PERK on JUNE 10, 2013
Related article found here on bigger pockets.

Sometimes a buyer makes it a condition of purchase that all leases will be dissolved and that when the buyer takes possession you will allow tenants to reapply under the new rules and terms. There are of course complications in that the current owner might actually have to buy out contracts.
If you had done that, then the current owner would be less inclined to continue to try to get renters as they would possibly have to buy out their contract. As it is, they have everything to gain and nothing to lose by continuing to try to rent. They may fear the deal falling through. Perhaps more diplomatic, rather than telling them to stop altogether, request that you be permitted to also approve any new tenants. (Then stall for three weeks if you have to).

Someone subletting your rental to others is exactly what I thought, too, when I read this post. The other possibility is that you are getting ski resort employees who may tend to pack a few more people in there than they originally told you about.
To have a successful vacation rental business over the long haul you need to build up repeat clientele. By taking your property off the market for four months, you are setting yourself back a whole year in this process.

Good post. I guess I would always be Leary about giving people my bank account information anyway, but you would have thought that what your uncle was doing was safe.

This is a cool forum! I have already sent a link/invite to a friend to check out.
I started with rental property back in around 1983 or so. Did well enough-supplemented my income, learned how to do repairs on my own I never thought I could do! (Also learned when to call the professionals!!) I have a BS in hotel management so my inclination has always been toward the hospitality end-I like people. I did a couple 1031 tax deferred exchanges and now have short term vacation rentals (three of them) which is our family's main income. I came to this forum because of a need. Advertising in vacation rentals has changed dramatically in the last few years. I was tremendously successful previously and now find my web site getting lost at the bottom of other sites that use google search words etc. to bump themselves higher. I am embarking on a fast course of teaching myself more about how to use my own website better, promote it better and understand the quickly changing world of Search Engine Optimization better.