What can you do when you discover an old oil tank leak on your recently purchased property? Your options may be limited, especially with the title company. Q: I bought an investment property located on the edge of a river. Apparently, years ago, a nearby oil tank leaked. The tank was not disclosed in the [...]
Is now the right time to sell your rental property? We may be in a seller’s market, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get the most bang for your rental property buck. Q: As always, you give us a lot of good real estate information in your columns. Here's a question regarding my rental home in [...]
Because lenders have the right to place a lien on any investment property you own, it’s important to act quickly or risk losing the property altogether. Q: A bank foreclosed on a property I owned with a business partner. The bank sold the property but the proceeds from the sale weren’t enough to cover the [...]
With all the hard work that goes into being a landlord, it’s sometimes smarter to outsource that work to a property management company. Q: I am planning to buy a four-plex and I was planning on using an on-call handyman instead of property management which is typically expensive. Since this is my first project I [...]
When you’re selling a two-family home, your “cost basis” will determine the taxes you owe. Q: I am in the process of selling my two-family home I have owned it since 1997. I have done major repairs on the tenant’s apartment and am wondering how do I figure out the amount of the tax I’ll [...]
After gaining an investment property from a divorce, this reader asks whether it's better to sell the house or continue to rent it to cover expenses. Q: I got divorced last year and from the divorce, I got a house in California. The value of the house is about $600,000. I owe about $250,000 on [...]
Navigating capital gains tax on the sale of an investment property can be complicated. Consult a tax professional to fully understand your options and their consequences. Q: We bought a rental property (it’s a condo) in 2005 for $80,000. We rented it out until 2016. Our daughter moved into this condo last year after she [...]
Have you moved and decided to rent out your old house rather than sell it at today’s depressed prices? Are you renting out your vacation property? Did you buy a foreclosure or short sale with a residential mortgage and—after you fixed it up—begin renting it out while waiting until you can sell it and make [...]
When you sell a Second Home, you may not get the tax advantages unless the home was an investment property and can defer capital gains. Q: We are considering selling a second home to find another one closer in proximity to our permanent home. We do not want to sell until we find another house [...]
Decide to payoff an investment property or pay down the mortgage. Don't pay off an investment property and pay down the mortgage at the same time. Consider interest rates on loans before paying off mortgage loans on an investment property or primary home mortgage. Refinance mortgage loans before you pay down a primary home mortgage or investment property mortgage loan.
