Monthly Archives: June 2016

First time buying, old home

The shell seems good, and the property is beautiful. But the insides have been neglected and needs some TLC.

I'm thinking I can use that to lower the price, minimizing my mortgage, giving me the freedom to save up and do renovations as I go

I'm thinking hell, good structure, breath taking property, good renovations, great investment?

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Reconstruction Cost versus Market Value. (home insurance question)

I am sure this can vary wildly depending upon the home and area, but any good tips or guidelines when it comes to what the insurance company sets their reconstruction cost compared to the market value of the house?

I know what the market value of the house is because I am in the process of buying it now, and I also know what it was assessed at by the bank.

How different would one expect the reconstruction cost would be?

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New home buyer looking to get into rentals as well seeking advice or guidance

I'm self employed with 20k in the bank. In the next month I'll also have a family home in my name that I can use a collateral to secure a loan for investment purposes, if needed. I've been renting for 5 years and am planning on buying my first home.

My plan was to find something that maybe needed updating or a little bit of work so I could get it a little cheaper, live in it for as long as I need to get it to a rentable state and then find another potential home to do the same while I rent that one out.

This seems easy enough on paper but I lack experience. The market is southwestern Oklahoma and we have a large military base here where soldiers are given a housing allowance to live off of post and military housing is at 98% capacity with more troops coming. The main rental companies in town do very little to maintain their properties considering what they're asking for rent. There's homes cheap enough that I could afford to do a conventional loan to avoid PMI, but leaves me with less cash to work with.

I'm not really sure what questions to ask of you. I'm just looking for someone to listen my situation and offer any advice they might have. It would certainly be appreciated.

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How does capital gains taxes work for real estate that was used as a rental part of the time?

For example, if I bought my house in 2010. Then rent it out in 2017. but decided in 2018 to move back in. Then in 2019 decides to sell it. Would I owe any capital gains tax for the time I didn't live in my house? If so, how would the IRS calculate how much taxes I owe? What if most of my appreciation was from 2010-2016, and it level off and doesn't appreciate as much in 2017 while my house was a rental. If the actual appreciate each year affects how much tax I have to pay, how do I prove it didn't appreciate much in 2017 so I don't have to pay as much capital gains? Thanks!

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Looking into building a home. Having the shell built and doing everything else as a “self build.” Here’s my situation

I have about 60k in cash I can spend upfront, I'm thinking that could get the shell built. 1600 sqft home plus a basement. I will be living with family rent free in the meantime, and make around 3,000 a month.

My father in law is a builder/electrician and said he would help with the initial foundation, well and septic process, and do all the electrical.

So here's what I need answers to. I would need to finance the land, looking at around 30k. Could I do this, pay the shell builders upfront, and then use my monthly income to start plumbing, heating, cooling, and building the interior without ever having a home mortgage? Once the plumbing, heat, bathrooms, electric is done I would plan on living in it as I finish it, could take a year or longer before it's completely finished. I don't know if there's legal issues with this. I know with a typical construction loan there are deadlines and has to be appraised and completely finished before rolling it over to a 30 yr fixed. But if this idea is realistic, I don't see why I would even need a construction loan or any mortgage.

What am I missing here? I feel like this is too unrealistic, and if it's possible I feel like it would be more common, but I've never heard of anyone doing it before.

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Renting without a lease

I've been at my current apartment for a year now, and my lease expired at the beginning of the month. I told the landlord back in April that I was interested in staying another year, but he never got back to me and I still haven't seen another lease. I think he just forgot to send me a new lease to sign.

My question is this: should I prompt him to send me a lease? Does a lease do me any good, or is it more to lock me into occupancy?

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Keeping a home in the family

My grandma owns a house that the grandchildren would like to keep in the family. We live in Wisconsin but my grandma is worried that she wont be able to transfer it to one of us. What needs to be done to keep this house in the family? Is the only option to outright sell it to one of us for full value? Please anything would help!

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Underwriting did not approve my FHA loan, bc tax returns are not under my primary address… GR, MI.

I purchased a duplex on a conventional loan (owner occupied) June of last year 2015. I occupy one of the apartments on the property I purchased, but I still have a few things mailed to my previous address (2015 tax returns/license), because its safer and relatives live there. My mistake, I did not fix this before I applied. Underwriting denied pre-approval for this reason (everything else checked out with flying colors).

What are my options now? Should I fix my mail to be sent to my property and apply again at the same bank or different? Any other options besides Sallie Mae for an FHA low down payment?

Don't want to slow down my plans. Would like to purchase another duplex this year if possible. Conventional is 25% down on a duplex or higher, so I don't want to take this route. Looking to buy at around 100k-150k range. Grand Rapids, MI.

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