I sure hope the tax credit extend until the end of the year because you have mortgage company taking their time to process application then you have to wait on the bank to respond back and that takes forever. This is one of the reason I decided to build a home and no $8000 is not a lot of money when you have a mortgage note for 30 years and property tax to pay but it is a lot of money when it helps give a boost and yes it would be great to extend and keep the home industry climbing and rising.

IAMA’s and Ask Reddit’s are time consuming (like this isn’t too). I’m trying to enjoy my Sunday here lol. **”What are the biggest unforeseen challenges in being a landlord in two states located far away from each other?”** Hmm…..tough question. I think the biggest *advantage* is that you treat your properties more like an investment and less like a building you can walk up to and touch. However, being a physical asset is a frequent advantage I cite because if shit hits the fan, it’s still there…compared to Enron stock. However, if I have to stretch for a challenge, it’s having to travel across the country to audit things. The paper work, the appearance of the houses and how the neighborhoods look. It helps when you frequently travel to those places to visit family and can also have business purposes for the trip (thank you tax laws). You also may run into a situation where your CPA needs to learn about state taxes if you and her both live in a state like Florida with no income tax and suddenly have to report since NY does have a state income tax (however, there are quite a few NY-ians in FL so she was familiar with out of state filings like this). You also miss out on the community. Most places have active Real Instate Investment Associations, and by being part of these groups, you get the low down on changes in laws and other things real estate. Relationships are how deals are made, so you may miss out on this kind of thing too. You property manager can’t build relationships with other investors for you (however they can introduce you, but relationships take time). Another challenge is banking. How are you planning on drawing money in (or adding money if a major capital project comes along)? Some companies will simply ACH you an owner profit each month, other mgmt companies require you to have your own bank account, checks and give them signing authority. This is fine if BoA, Chase or another big boy bank is nearby in both placesw. This was a headache for me until the local bank in Upstate NY decided to put a branch in 5 minutes from where I lived in SoFla. Hurray for snowbirds. I’m living in upstate NY again near my investments. As a personal improvement effort to be a better investor, I’ve actually played the role as a”worker” for the past two weeks rehabbing my last two apartments. So far, with the help of real handy people who know what they are doing, I have sawzawed old walls out and helped rebuild a room into a bathroom and hallway (long story, the house only had one bathroom for two apartments so we had to make the 2nd apartment work). I helped change out a couple doors, helped put a brand new floor in the other bathroom, install a counterbase/top/new sink and refloor a kitchen, help install a new bath tub and toilet and lay down carpeting (and FUCKING carpet glue). I also helped pull up old linoleum and other misc things. If i didn’t live here, this opportunity would not have presented itself. Doing things like this will help me understand future rehab project costs and timelines. **”Are you trying to diversify your portfolio by investing in each state or are you attempting to consolodate?”** I guess I’m trying to diversify. I suppose one of the states, counties or cities could pass an idiotic law and put me out of business. Let’s just say if global warming is true, Florida could be a bad place to invest (lol). **”Would you encourage or discourage investments away from where you reside?”** Another tough question. My investments are in areas I know. Upstate NY where I grew up, So FL where I lived for 11.5 years. You should start out investing in an area you are familiar with. So, if for one reason the area you live in sucks, become familiar with another. Most markets have room for cash flow positive real estate right now (with prices so low), so look around. I guess I should describe what I mean by “familiarity”. Contrary to what you might read, I don’t mean knowing neighborhoods like the back of your hand and knowing every little detail of tax law. I would say familiarity is recognizing town names. Recognizing major arterial routes and school zones. Being able to have an intelligent conversation with a property management company about an area (because finding a good one is more important than finding a great deal. Find good management, good deals happen because you can have them advise you). As far as logistics of reporting. I’m working with my prop mgr in NY in standardizing their business on a SAAS software at It’s so easy with online banking, email, Facebook and services like this to be aware of the going’s on in other states when it comes to your real estate. **”Are there tax implications? Which state offers better investment potential in your opinion?”** There are and many of them are great. Rental real estate is a business, so every expense is deductible. If you show a loss and make less than $125,000 (I think, ask your CPA), you can direct that loss towards your personal taxable income. You don’t want to have lots of years with losses, but it can help early on while you sink money into rehab and acquisition. A residential real estate property can be depreciated for 27.5 years. This is ironic since real estate usually appreciates, but the IRS lets you do it. It’s a break on your taxable income. Divide $36,000 by 27.5 = $1309 x 25% tax bracket gives you a $327 break off your tax bill. Do this 13 times. It helps. Many investors make a living off of buying apartment buildings with poor occupancy, fixing them up, bringing occupancy up and then refinancing with cash out. ie, buy a property with $300,000 mortgage, fix it up so it appraises at $429,000, take a loan out for $90,000. There is no tax on borrowed money since you pay the taxes as you pay the loan back. Why would you ever sell something like this if you aren’t dealing with management headaches and the rents pay the mortgage payments for you. Do it every 4-6 years for each property. That will fill up your IRA quick lol (although I recommend more real estat instead). **”What advice would you offer to real estate entrepreneurs in hard hit areas like Las Vegas, Phoenix, or So Cal?”** I honestly don’t feel qualified to give them specific advice. Maybe visit a REIA and see what other people are doing in those areas? Just don’t get suckered into expensive classes or “books and tapes” things (they are ALWAYS for sale at REIA meetings). There is plenty of information in the real estate investing section of your local Barnes and Noble and Borders to get the logistics figured out. You just need to meet the people really doing it to see how they are handling things. Las Vegas: Phoenix: Cali:

You might find this “original”, but the software itself is anything but. Like nearly every other Microsoft product that has ever existed, the entire Dynamics product line — including AX — is little more than a cob-job of other people’s old software that Microsoft simply purchased, tweaked a bit, and relabeled. See [this for the actual origins of AX … one might more properly refer to it as “IBM-Damgaard-Navision-Axapta-AX”. MorphX is indeed a powerful Integrated Development Environment, but it lies beyond the scope of this discussion to properly explain the very, very deep shit that programmers can get into when using an IDE without a proper version control system, and without proper QA and testing procedures in place. A conditional oversight such as the one you describe above (i.e. paid cash = no mortgage note to service), if true, should really have been caught in about five minutes — and in a smaller shop, it probably would be. Granted, SAP is no walk in the park either, to speak nothing of PeopleSoft and the dreaded *gasp* Oracle Financials. But if I’ve learned nothing else from 25 years in the business, it’s that Microsoft products stand out in allowing programmers to write some astonishingly bone-headed code that defies both logic and common sense. AX shops would do well to staff up with a small army of QA Ninjas, and test until it hurts.

Yes. He could owe gift tax on the $23,000 difference between the value of the house and the amount that you paid him.

 The government figures also show that property appreciation rates in the coastal areas range between 8.6 -18.6 percent, by all means a healthy figure. Even discounting an element of likely exaggeration in these statistics, the numbers still present an extremely attractive picture of opportunity in investing in property in Javea. Don’t forget that old adage: when it comes to buying property, it is all about “location, location & location” – and undoubtedly, the location that is really hot right now is Javea

You create a contract for deed, and she pays you like any other bank, you pay your mortgage.

Most mortgages have a "due on sale" clause, which means that if they find out you have sold your home, they can call the mortgage due. So be careful. If it's paid on time, may not be a problem. If you don't record your contract, they may not find out. But it is a potential risk.

You should contact a real estate attorney to advise you and handle the documents and the sale. Gather up your mortgage documents from when you did your last closing and bring them to the attorney.