I think you nailed it on the head already... differs from lender to lender for sure... my experience has been that it needs to be 12 months of rental income on your tax return so it would depend on what month you start renting it.

What are the real tax benefits to the seller when transacting via purchase money mortgage...I can see if the property is not a primary being taxed at capital gains for the sale...but what happens when the seller files taxes at the end of the year...how do they report income from holding a mortgage?...

Usually $2,800-$3,300, then you add the prepaid items such as insurance, taxes, etc..I can give you the names of two lenders that can do the loan.

As we are getting closer to the new year, I wanted to know if a January 2017 payment made in December 2016, would the interest on that payment be applied towards 2016 taxes, or 2017 taxes?

I say “Yep”.When the bank came back with the increase in EMD from $500 to $2500, I asked my agent if that was because they wanted to increase the likelihood that I would not walk.She said that she believed that was the case.So, I believe at this point, ensuring I close is more important than the sales price.Plus I already stated that $17,500 was best and final.So, I countered back at $17,500 with $2500 EMD.It was accepted.My lender couldn’t believe it.After closing, the bank and I discussed financing options.Since it ended up being all my cash for the purchase, we decided on a construction to permanent loan.We got an appraisal value for its as-is condition and it’s ARV.When analyzing the property, I tried to be conservative and used a $120,000 ARV.As-is condition came back at $60,000, and ARV came back at $145,000.Comps were had to come by, as this is a small, rural town and there hadn’t been many homes sold recently.The bank would ultimately lend me up to 75% of the ARV, or $101,000 in 4 draws.The loan would be interest only during the renovation, and convert to a mortgage when completed.The loan is 10 year fixed at 6.25% with a 25 year amortization.Projected costs: Electrical work--$5,300Renovations--$64,000Zoning Hearing for approval for conversion--$1,500Insurance, permits, property taxes, and other holding costs--$2000Total Budget--$73,800Renovation took just under 3 months, with virtually no surprises.The electrician came in at budget, and the renovations had $4,000 in overages.With the purchase price, loan costs, and renovations, I am right at $101,000.I also believe that if I chose to get a new appraisal, it would come in much higher, as since the first one, a few houses in the area have sold and would support a higher value.So here’s a quick run-down on the numbers:All-in price:$101,000Value:$145,000Income:$850/month x 2=$1700Monthly Expenses: Maintenance 10%:$170Capex 10%:$170Vacancy 5%:85Electric:$20Trash:$55Insurance:$100Property Taxes:$185.33Mortgage:$666.27Total:$1451.60Monthly Cashflow--$248.40Money in the deal—ZERO DOLLARSYes, I know that I did not account for property management in my numbers.The reason is that there is industry moving into the area, and higher paying jobs as well.I believe that rents will increase and support property management down the road, if I choose.If that doesn’t happen, well then I’m stuck managing forever or selling it at some point, but it is a risk I am willing to take at this point.Is this deal a home run?

We have no private note industry, no REO, no tax sales, no notes and liens industry, and bankruptcy stuffs your entire life for over a decade so I find America to be like heaven when it comes to RE.

What are implications for maintenance, taxes, insurance?

I now plan to convert this traditional IRA to a Roth IRA to take advantage of getting myself a tax shelter I wouldn't normally qualify to obtain.

This longer life would negate some of the tax benefits that are afforded to owners of residential rental properties (due to the shorter depreciable life on those types of properties), and would most likely cause your rental income to be taxable more often then not, right?

Again, I have used all actual numbers from my bank statements/end of year tax docs, and triple checked that I was putting all the numbers in the right blocks using the calculator, and the numbers don't add up...