Also, I can understand the draw of "we can use it when we want it", because everyone feels that way, but that shouldn't be part of the calculus in making an investment decision because then you are mixing your wants and feelings with what needs to be a rational analytical decision. 

For all its faults and messiness, my goodness I love the rationality of it.Bringing it home:  because RE investing is a people business, it's often possible to improve your business by improving your people. 

Or, am i being silly since I know these sorts of deals people don't think rationally about taxes. 

Most REI spend their time looking for deals and come away with the same observation, or make bad deals just to make a deal, and then rationalize it into a good one.The best answer is to stop looking for deals, that's where all the competition is. 

Thanks,Jean-Yves Diei Pittsburgh is a great place to start by house hacking because there are quite a number so small multifamily buildings and the rent to price ration is good enough to make it work. 

You left money on the table for sure, or gave it to the developer rather because they bought at 52% of the ARV.Your $174,400 offer to seller with your wholesale fee of $40k means the flipper pays $214,400 for a house, that after a reno will sell for $278,040, might be too high for a developer to be interested (definitely below 20% profit after the reno, carry, and selling costs, if not upside-down) because they bought at 77% of the ARV.That's how I would rationalize it, and get the most out of every seller you lock-up with.

If you are reading about it, remember I believe it applies to more than just real estate.In short, for a residential condo, just plan on depreciating the improvement portion of the assessed value ration over 27.5 yearsTalk to a qualified professional or two.

Hi everyone,My partner and I are in search of our first home and came across a property that we like. I was hoping some experienced purchasers would be able to advise me on an offer I’d like to make. I’m in New York. ...

Once someone has received that discount once, it anchors a new price point in their head - rent is no longer $1000, it's $970, and no rational explanation is going to satisfy them.2.

Although the net income earned from a property will vary with each owners specific circumstance, you want to multiply property's net income by 59.01 to have an idea what the price range should/could be in.Obviously this is only as correct as the market signal is and assuming that investors are acting "rationally" when buying and selling at current prices.