I would be overpaying taxes (by not reporting expenses except depreciation) to show higher rental income so I could qualify for a nicer property in the near future. This appears to be allowed by IRS since no penalties are imposed for not reporting expenses or overpaying taxes. Would this strategy work/would lenders accept this? I know most people wouldn't make that trade off but from the math I've done it seems to be worth it if it meant I could qualify for a much nicer property. submitted by /u/Intelligent_South_38 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1luiwzr/will_lenders_use_my_net_rental_income_on_my/

Ok this might be long to get the full picture. I am a week away from closing on a home. It’s a great neighborhood, in an unincorporated area of our city. Seller had moved but family member was living in the house for the past couple months. Behind the house, there are two vacant lots that are split, no fencing, And to the right of the house there are open lots on a somewhat mountainous terrain, about 5 acres. That fence is broken in the back of the lot to the right and can reach the other two open lots in the backAll three lots have different owners. None of the lots can be traced to the sellers of out home. One thing that was a bit odd to us during our visit to the property once was that there was a cord from the electrical box, we followed it and saw it was going to a random outlet to an open lot behind the property. We asked sellers, and apparently the owners of the lot asked to use power but there was a “misunderstanding” and they would remove the cord. Cord has yet to be remove...

Hey, I’m based in Colorado and work mainly with residential buyers and sellers. For the last few years, I’ve been using CTM eContracts for everything 😒 mostly because it’s what my brokerage recommended. But to be honest, it’s never felt efficient. Between the outdated interface and the confusion clients have during signing, it often feels like I spend more time supporting the tool than actually getting contracts out. On mobile, especially, it’s a nightmare. I’ve also experimented with Dotloop and Skyslope, and occasionally just go back to downloading the DORA forms and filling them out manually when I get frustrated. I’ve even worked with a few TCs and property managers who said they’ve built full workflows around patching these tools together with other software. If you're an agent, TC, or property manager working in Colorado please help me with what contract platform are you using right now, and how do you really feel about it? Doesn't it gets frustrating sometimes? Wou...

Viewed an ad for land, clicked the link and filled out form for contact from realtor.com agent. Immediately my phone rang. A little more info and a request for some additional info by email by me. Was told ok. Then asked to wait on hold for agent. No agent available. Now get daily calls, wanting me to wait on hold while corporate finds a local agent. Never recieved email, or any info on land viewed. Told them dont call back. submitted by /u/Initial-Relation-696 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1lt1ebf/realtorcom/

My husband and I had planned to go see a house we are very interested in and think we love based on the pictures. We made plans to go to their open house today. At some point between originally listing it 5 days ago, and today, they updated the listing description to say that the sellers have an offer deadline of 7/4 at 11:59pm. The market in my city isn’t that hot anymore and houses are sitting longer periods of time. This surprised me that they would have added an offer deadline before even having the first open house. My question is, should we even still bother going to the open house anymore? submitted by /u/Nervous_Platypus_565 [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1lt00r9/offer_deadline_before_open_house/

Call me crazy but I refuse to pay half a million dollars for a house that doesn't have a beautifully finished basement (including the ceilings, no black spray paint crap). Market - Midwest, US. submitted by /u/EstateGate [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1lsys01/unfinished_basements/

It occurred to me today that we heard this saying from sellers constantly over the past 3 years, when home prices were doubling and nearly the entire US was a seller's market. Have you noticed how quiet those sellers are now? While real estate markets are local, many places in the country are turning into buyer's markets, and sellers are starting to figure that out. They've stopped saying “a home is worth what someone will pay for it”, because most buyers are no longer willing to pay delusional prices. Many of my friends and family, myself included, have been in good positions to buy homes for some time now, but we're simply so fed up with the current market, we refuse to even entertain the idea of buying anytime soon. Is anyone else having this experience as well? Curious to hear your thoughts/observations. submitted by /u/SisuSisuEveryday [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1lswxae/a_home_is_worth_what_someone_will_pay...

My spouse and I always joked that if the house next door came up for sale, we'd buy it. It did, so we are. My ultimate goal is not to be a landlord, but instead, I wish to house each of my children with intent of giving them each a house to live in and eventually inherit. This will be our house second house out of 3 needed to accomplish this goal. Our eldest is a disabled adult and lives in a we bought for him. The maintenance and upkeep for that home is paid for by a trust. His social security disability pays his bills. So, he's all set. However, the youngest have no desire to live on their just own yet (ages 23 and 21), so neither will be moving to this home anytime soon. We don't want to leave it vacant, so we've decided to become landlords. Trouble is that I am more interested in long-term renters and my husband is more interested in short-term renters until one of the younger kids feels ready to move. In other's experience, what are the pros and cons of e...

Buying a house is exciting, but let’s be honest, the idea of taking on a mortgage can be terrifying , especially if you're someone like me who thinks What if I lose my job? What if I can’t make the payments? Even with a stable income, I constantly worry about waking up every month with that heavy feeling of debt. So, instead of spiraling, I decided to change my mindset and create a mortgage "backup plan": Plan A : Pay mortgage with ROI from your investments like Bonds, Stocks, Etc. Plan B : If above is not possible, Pay the mortgage with your main job (The default. If this is working, great, but I needed to be ready in case it stops) Plan C : If above is not possible, Rent out a room in your home (If you have the space, rent it, even short-term on Airbnb or monthly to a student/remote worker. It’s passive(ish) income that can help cover part or all of your mortgage) Plan D : If above is not possible, Use income from a side hustle (Freelance work, online gigs, a week...