Anybody own a rental property? Pros and cons?
Annegriet
7 years ago
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Anybody build their own house with or partly with stone?
Comments (1)In regards to stone work, I wouldnt go it alone. Try to find a good mason that is willing to take you on as a laborer and helper. Perhaps you can pay him hourly with the understanding that you may eventually want to complete the project alone. It may be difficult to find such a willing participant. Faux stone is getting better but you better be extremely careful with the installation. If you dont get the details right it can be a disaster. I would avoid it. "pressed in stone" ?? I hope you mean for the flatwork only and not walls......See MoreA rental cottage on your own property???
Comments (6)I have an apartment in my primary residence, it is part of the house, not a separate cottage (wish it was separate). I have rented it for nearly 8 years. At first it was "illegal", and then I discovered the town had a special permit for "an additional dwelling unit in a single family home" and I applied for the permit. This required a building inspection as well as Board of Health review, and I had to install a 2nd egress to the exterior, and install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, to comply with state fire code. But the apartment is now fully legal in every sense. Even before the apartment became legal, I claimed the income on my taxes (think it's schedule E?) and deducted expenses pertaining to the apartment which is calculated as 20% of the living space of the house. For example, the utilities are included in the rent, but I write off 20% of electric, oil, and water bills. The homeowner's insurance also lists the home as having two kitchens. If the cottage is legal rental, then that's great, but even if it wasn't that wouldn't stop me from renting it out anyway (discretely) AND filing the income and expenses on your taxes. I would make sure that the cottage is well-maintained - tip top condition - and that it complies with state fire code, to minimize liability. You really don't want to get in trouble with the IRS or get sued. This situation works out great (most of the time, I did have one whacko tenant). The rental income helps to pay the mortgage. I also own other rental property and have to say that maintaining a rental unit and monitoring a tenant on an owner-occupied property is much easier than maintaining rental property that is at another location....See MoreCertificate- Secured Loans Pros & Cons?
Comments (11)dave_donhoff - I'm just brainstorming again! LOL We have a house with a 2nd mortgage. We bot in 2003, and the 2nd is at 8%. Orig (for 2nd) was about $26,800. 30yrs due in 15. Have paid on this for 7 yrs as of Sept 2010. We've been making pymts of about $240.00/mo, + we made 2 or 3 extra annual pymts. (Min Due = approx $196.00) So it should be paid off at the 15 yr mark. We owe just about (or 'just over') $10k. Will take another 8 yrs to pay off 2nd. I don't want to wait 8 more years. We cannot re-fi. Bought for $134,000 in Southern California, and NO equity (obviously). We owe about $108k btwn 1st & 2nd. Zillow shows valued at $105K this month, but has been down to $90K AND I KNOW that Zillow, Trulia, Cyberhomes are just guestimates. However, we have nothing fancy, and bought with none of those updates or remodeling. (we have green & blue sinks, toilets, tubs; tiled counters & orig cabinetry in kitchen & bathroons. Basically the same as was built in the '70's.) My mind is all over the place & I've been wondering about this for awhile now. Some days I say "NO WAY", other days I wonder. I want that 2nd paid off. Yet, I want to keep what little liquid assets I have. (AND, I DO understand that my 'Liquid Assets' would be tied up if I were to consider this type of loan until paid in full.) I am also getting close to receiving an inheritance by years' end. LOL, I know, don't count your chickens... Well, I'm gonna say I'll be LUCKY if I get 5k! Most likely more, but...one never knows. (I'm thinking about at least 10k, so settling for 5). HOWEVER, all this came about regardless of the stupid inheritance! I was just thinking / pondering. The rate of the 2nd on our home is 8%. We cannot re-fi. (negative equity, PLUS it 'costs' to re-fi) Balance due approx 10k (maybe a bit more, but not a problem) Dividend Rates on C.D.'s so low it's crazy - nothing to spit at nor blink twice about. I was just wondering: Open a 'share cert' for 10k for 60 months, borrow 100% against it, (still get the dividend paid on my cert???), pay the 10k 2nd mortgage off with the loan, and pay myself back??????? (and, if I default, I still have enough to cover...B-4 any inheritance) Does ANY of this make any sense? I'm tired. HOWEVER, I ALSO WAS WONDERING ABOUNT ANY NEGITIVES TO TAKING OUT SUCH SECURED LOAN...when I have a very long history of good credit....See MoreConsidering buying a rental property
Comments (9)There are pros and cons for purchasing a condo for rental. I am in S Florida so my extensive experience may be different from your area. In my area many of the condo communities have rental restrictions in place. Those restrictions vary widely from community to community. Some won't allow rentals at all. Others restrict the number of times per year you can rent the property e.g. one time, or twice. Others will allow rentals but only after the owner has lived there 1 yr or 2 years. Do these restrictions apply to family members: yes. So the very first thing to check is what are the rental restrictions in the communities you are considering. And, remember, rental restrictions can be added to the condo rules and regulations at any time as long as the proper procedure was followed to change or add a rule. Note that after the mortgage crisis in 2008, many condo communities in our area changed their rules about rentals making it exponentially more difficult for owners to rent their unit to anyone. The other thing to keep in mind is that as a unit owner/landlord you have an outside party that can turn down your tenant. Who? The condo board can turn down any tenant you approve to rent the unit, including family members. Some boards have no approval process and just want to have the information (lease, contact information) for the tenant. No approval process is extremely rare here. Most have an active role in approving or declining your tenant. In my area it is common for the condo board to have their own separate tenant application, their own separate tenant app fees, and take anywhere from two weeks to a month to go through the application process. Some even require an personal interview of the tenant and won't allow video conferencing even if your tenant lives elsewhere in the world. Some condo communities even have subtle rules meant to eliminate tenants. I ran into one yesterday where the board requires a minimum credit score of 700 and if the tenant is married, both have to have a minimum score of 700. If there are 3 tenants that are of adult age (18 yrs old and older) then all 3 have to have 700 or more. It's not unusual for a family unit to have an adult child that doesn't have credit yet and doesn't meet that requirement. Doesn't sound like much, but it effectively cuts down the rentals tremendously. I'm going to stop now because your area may be different :) Be very diligent in your research. IMO it is not worth the aggravation of having a third party that can kill your rental at any time....See MoreAnnegriet
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