We all know that's baloney, though, since there are usually other considerable costs in selling a house.Since I am not in Houston, I can't say what the house is really worth fixed up, but I'll wager it's not $275,000.

Doing this will give you a lower basis in the property, so when you sell you'll have a greater gain, but then you can do a 1031 exchange and move on to another property.

No money exchanged, he lives in the house while he works on it, for whatever rent agreement you make between the 2 of you, this will help you refi.

The net result is that we have a more stable economy and also a net lower long-term growth rate.I am very much in favor of a laissez-faire approach to the economy and have no problem with accepting more volativility in exchange for higher long term growth.

A significant portion of those resources include my tolerance for exchanging an excessive portion of earnings for housing that offers inequitable return for that investment, now and in the future.

In exchange the investor throws listings to the realtor that are too high priced for the investor to buy.

(He is a close friend - I do not recommend letting tenants work for you).If he works in exchange for rent, does anyone know if he is classified as an "employee" and thus subject to FICA tax withholding, workers comp, or industrial insurance (L&I in Washington State)?

There are many homeowners that are happy to have a short sale completed that aren't going to ask for money in exchange.

I look forward to networking with all of you and exchanging profitable properties as well.

Your CPA can helps with this.Capex has to be depreciated, but you can do chattel appraisals and such to depreciate things like appliances quicker than the real property.You can also defer recapture taxation by doing a 1031 exchange instead of selling.