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Thoughts on being a landlord
- Thread starter spencer60
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Yes, you'll pay capital gains tax on the rental house then (unless it's been your primary residence 2 out of the preceding 5 years) and none on your primary residence under most circumstances.I defer to someone who knows well what he's talking about because I don't. That said, aren't there some tax advantages to selling your primary residence and making a profit from it (now) versus trying to sell a rental property later, without having reoccupied it as a primary residence for 3 years?
GeauxLSU (I defer to someone who knows about taxes.)
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Me and my wife were thinking about buying 2 Town houses to rent out, but this week my next door neighbor went to 2 homes he rents out in Virginia Beach, he had to evict the tenants and both homes were trashed. His wife said no more buying homes to rent. So now he's in the process of get rid of all his 4 rental homes, he has 2 in Buford.
That's what I understand
So if you vacate 3yrs, you're tax exemption is over
Just a bunch more reasons here for me to sell rather than try and lease it out. Not that I needed more convincing.
I hadn't thought about the tax angle though, except that as a rental I could write off a bunch of stuff. I've lived here since 2004 so the capital gains exemption just makes it more certain I won't be going down the landlord road.
I hadn't thought about the tax angle though, except that as a rental I could write off a bunch of stuff. I've lived here since 2004 so the capital gains exemption just makes it more certain I won't be going down the landlord road.
So, got to jump in on this since you are all ragging on renters. I was active duty Air Force for 23 years. 11 of those years I was stationed in the United States. 3 years in Texas and 5 years in Maryland. During those times, knowing I was going to be there for a limited amount of time, I was a renter. The folks who owned the property had rental agents do everything. I paid their house payment plus extra for the rental agent plus some amount that went into a slush fund for repairs. The agents advertised on the bases since they preferred active duty tenants. If I screwed up, the just had to call my commander or first shirt would insure I did the right thing. Most of my military friends were renters and we never gave anyone any issues or reasons to complain. So if you have to be a landlord, rent to active duty folks and use an agent who will answer the phone at 2am when the heat goes out or the AC quits working. Not all tenants are butt holes, you just need to find the ones that can pass review.
Now on the other hand, I have a good friend who owns quite a number of houses in Paulding and Cobb County. He has had some great tenants but lately he has had a small group that must have gotten together and figured out how to screw him over. They take turns (3 families) not paying rent for a month or two months, then playing catch up. A couple moved extra folks in without asking. Then didn't pay for 4 or 5 months. Friend is a kind hearted individual but finally took them to court for eviction. The process is costly and then having to wait on the deputy to have time to come around and service the eviction notice, and then once served they had a certain amount of time to move out. Then they refused to move out and that was another issue. Once they were gone, 2 of the 3, they left all kinds of crap behind. We are talking extra large size roll off dumpsters to hold it all, emptied 3 times. Then repairs were huge. Those 3 properties are now up for sale and hoping they sell soon. The third tenant did the polite thing. He died in bed and wasn't found for 3 weeks when the neighbors reported a foul odor. Cleaning up after a dead person is what nightmares are made of but that is a story for another time and place.
I think you have made a good decision to sell the property, take your money and good memories and enjoy life before some major rainfall comes along.
Now on the other hand, I have a good friend who owns quite a number of houses in Paulding and Cobb County. He has had some great tenants but lately he has had a small group that must have gotten together and figured out how to screw him over. They take turns (3 families) not paying rent for a month or two months, then playing catch up. A couple moved extra folks in without asking. Then didn't pay for 4 or 5 months. Friend is a kind hearted individual but finally took them to court for eviction. The process is costly and then having to wait on the deputy to have time to come around and service the eviction notice, and then once served they had a certain amount of time to move out. Then they refused to move out and that was another issue. Once they were gone, 2 of the 3, they left all kinds of crap behind. We are talking extra large size roll off dumpsters to hold it all, emptied 3 times. Then repairs were huge. Those 3 properties are now up for sale and hoping they sell soon. The third tenant did the polite thing. He died in bed and wasn't found for 3 weeks when the neighbors reported a foul odor. Cleaning up after a dead person is what nightmares are made of but that is a story for another time and place.
I think you have made a good decision to sell the property, take your money and good memories and enjoy life before some major rainfall comes along.
That's much easier in my neighborhood than most people on this site.
