The current real estate climate should cause a shift away from home ownership and towards rental properties. Credit is available to fewer people than it was just six months ago, so more families will find themselves in rental housing. In addition, would-be buyers are in a holding pattern waiting to see what happens with the present housing slump

Investment property owners are well positioned in this scenario. While the value of their investment property may take a hit, increasing rents and declining vacancy rates should help offset some of this pain.. (more…)

Popularity: 4% [?]

The last blog covered the top three tax deductions for rental property owners- mortgage interest, depreciation on real estate, and repairs. Here we will look at two more deductions. IRS Publication 527-Residential Rental Property provides added detail on the available tax deductions. (more…)

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Rental real estate provides some of the best tax deductions available to any investor. Your property manager should be knowledgeable in this area and willing to share their expertise with you. The following are usually the best three deductions. (more…)

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One of the fundamental jobs of a Property Manager is to find good tenants. There are various screening tools at the property manager’s disposal. I find the following three to be the most useful- (more…)

Popularity: 4% [?]

I have a rental property at a ski resort managed as a nightly rental during the winter months and a monthly rental the rest of the year. Over the years, hassles have been few. The property has appreciated nicely. Some years cash flow is positive and some years it’s negative – overall it breaks even. The main two lessons learned have to do with cleaning and revenues. (more…)

Popularity: 5% [?]

If you sell a rental property that has appreciated you

1. pay taxes on your profits, or
2. avoid taxes by qualifying for the primary residence exclusion, or
3. defer taxes by buying another rental property.

The October 27 blog posting addressed the first two alternatives; now we will review the third option. The IRS refers to this transaction as a 1031 exchange.
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Popularity: 7% [?]