I want to convert my house into an income property, how do I do that?
925821
First, get out of that ARM!!!!\nYou can get fixed 30 yrs at or below 6.75% right now.  Yes, that's higher than what you're paying right now, but lower than what you'll re-fi at in two years when you really will be hurting.\n\nIf you're in San Antonio, then you've noticed that we had a wave of investors come in.  This did two things.  1 - Drove prices of newer homes up pretty quickly.  2 - Drove prices of rentals down quickly.\n\nYour mortgage is $1,400 and it could rent for $1,000.  You're probably correct.  This price range is for buying and living in, not for owning as an investment.\n\n"Money makers" more often than not, come in neighborhoods that you'd rather not put your family into.
528716
Go to your local FHA office, they would know what you can do.
851696
I know I am not answering your question, but I do not know a place to send you for the information you are looking for.  I am a Landlord of 23 properties in Florida and I can answer specific questions you may have, to a limit.  Insurance you need to have homeowners Insurance and tell your agent that the house will be a rental, that way you are not paying for all items in the house, unless of course you are renting a furnished unit.  I have no special account, all the monies go into my personal account and all repairs come out of my personal account.  You will pay tax on the profit you make, I am not an accountant so I don't know what your tax implications would be, an accountant can answer that for you.  If you have any other questions please feel free to add details post another question or you can email me through Yahoo Answers.  Good Luck KG
371448
The best way to go about is starting with single family homes or duplexs.  You'll get a taste of being a landlord.  With apartments it can be tricky.  Also, think about liquidity.  Apartment buildings are much more difficult to sell.  \n\nOnce you've established yourself with duplex's and houses then think monopoly.  Trade them in for the apartment complex. Good luck
1099142
Income from property is your income and a taxable income, Bult there ways and means to off set it .(First) It is your only property and is self occupied (2) Cost of mantaining the propert y can be deducted from the rental and (3) if you have already paid property tax, the rental could be reduced and the income will come down from taxable limit.
999150
It's a good idea, simply because homes appreciate over time (maybe a lot of time, but they generally do).  \n\nYou have to take into consideration what the mortgage and taxes and insurance will cost you on a per month basis.  Then you have to figure out if you can rent it for that figure.  If you can, or can get more, is it worth the extra tax for the income?  If it's not, do you need the loss for your taxes?  \n\nRemember, when it's time to sell income property, you have to pay taxes on it unless you do a 1031 exchange, but that just means you're buying into another income property.  \n\nFinding good renters can be hard.  Can you pay for the house if it sits for a couple of months unrented?  Do you hav e the time to really check out a potential renter?  To be a landlord?\n\nThere are a lot of pros and cons.  If you have the time and the resources, by all means, hold on to it because real estate is a great thing to have.  But it's a lot of work too!\n\nGood luck  :)
280533
there are multiple answers to your question so I'll give a few examples, some take time, and other's take more money, you can choose what is best for you.\n\n1. one way is to just buy a house to live in and hope it appreciates in value. Over the past 5 years appreciation on real estate has gone through the roof. That trend is slowing down though, so probably isn't the best solution. (However, owning your own home has very nice tax benefits when filing for your tax return, so owning your own home is a very good idea anyway).\n\n2. Rental property. Find a multi-family home, which is generally a regular to oversized house with multiple apartment units in it (about 2 to 4 units). This is an excellent revenue generator, but also comes with some headaches of dealing with tennants. If you don't mind investing in lower income areas, buying a home in a lower income area and accepting section 8 residents (residents using section 8 government help have their rent checks go directly from the government to the landlord), can take a lot of stress out of being a landlord considering you never have to haggle over rent.  The other issue with that is maintaining the property. It helps to be handy to keep maintenance costs low, therefore increasing your profit.\n\nThe other good thing about that is that lower income areas generally tend to go through a revival at some point where the govt looks to renovate an area, by putting a civic use building in the area or just injecting the area with some money (such as a sports stadium or office buildings). When this happens the value of the properties surrounding it go up, which would build equity in your place. \n\n3. Flip a house. Flipping is the biggest risk/reward situation. You never know what you are getting when you buy a house at auction, but then again, you are getting a piece of property that will turn a big profit when you are done if the project is done right. Since you can't get in the property or do a thorough search of the structure, you don't know what lies in the walls and under the floors. You could have some serious damage in the house, which is a nightmare to fix. The biggest prizes are houses that just need cosmetics done such as new floors, bathrooms, kitchens, some nice paint and some landscaping. These can all be done relatively inexpensively (compared to structural work), and can turn a hefty profit.\n\nEach scenario is different and you have to do what works for you. None are easy and they all take patience. The easiest one to do is to buy a multi-family house and live in it for a year while you rent out the other units (a mortgage for a primary residence is the easiest to get and less of a hassle). After a year or so, move out and rent the unit you lived in, and take the money you made/saved in that period of time and put it into another house.
517571
if you have the property found, that you like you go with all papers about it to any bank (try more than one!). there you have to show them your earnings to prove your income and so on. they decide, if they give you a morgage or not. also real estate agencies can be helpful to refer you to a bank.
928067
Just work on saving towards a deposit.  Depending where you live, I would let your real estate work for you (ie live and rent out...) but you would have to be in a city or near business etc.  That is the only way.  I made what you were making 20 years ago and it was enough then...today I can't scrape two nickels together before they are sucked up by kids or taxes or bills etc.  Would never be able to have afforded to buy now...so glad I bought when I did.  But real estate always goes up...at least in a growing metropolis, so that is where you gotta be unless you just wanna live the simple life, which ain't so simple either.\n\nWhy worry about buying...maybe rent off someone who has just what you are looking for...and reap what they've sewn!  Use your money for the plusses in life...you can't take it with you after all...and all the richies in life...well frankly the more they make they more they find to waste it on...so it's stupid and irrelevant.  You can have what they have and more if you play your cards right and look at what really matters, not making designers rich off your money.  Doesn't sound like you'd want that kind of shallow life either because believe me most rich folks are a lot more boring than the good old down to earth people and not only that they are so busy working they never really get to live.  Life is short, enjoy what you have...it's all you need!
4919
The have a few options... if the numbers work out then go for it. I believe,  that if your property was aquired from using a 1031 exchange, then you will have to hold the property for 60 months and live in this property for 24 months out of those 60 months to qualify for the tax exemption of gains up to 250k/ 500k if you are married and file joint returns. Depending on your need for the capital, liquidity, and when; would be the questions I would ask \nyourself. If it was me, I would look in to more real estate, maybe a 1031 exchange. What other investment can you not only cash flow from, but is a leveraged asset. Hope this helps.
456285
The only way is to EXCHANGE them for other income property, called a SECTION 1031 TAX-DEFERRED EXCHANGE.  There are rules and time limits, and you cannot take out any cash without paying taxes on it.  If you cash out and just sell the properties, there is nothing to help offset or eliminate the capital gains tax at both the federal and state levels (if your state has income tax).  For more information, you can go look at the Federation of Exchange Accommodators website www.1031.org.
965179
buy your own house and then you would be the landlord :)
282377
Real Estate is the hardest thing in the world.  I will need more information from you.  First off was this real estate rented?  If not you can simply claim it on your 1040 Schedule A.  If it was rented then you have to claim it on your Scedule E (Income from Rental Property).   If you are trying to claim this on your State taxes I will need to know what state you are currently residing in to find out if you can claim it or not.\n\nMonteverde2\nUS Army Tax Preparer
935910
you can sell your house your self by listing it on a website for around £60 and save thousands of £'s. try www.clicksell.co.uk\n\ni don't trust estate agents.
153132
Sell and move back in with your parents.\n\nSeriously, the equity you've earned is not cash that's available to you anymore - it's debt that you've paid back.  It's not your money anymore.  You took out a loan to get a house to live in, and now you're paying back the loan.\n\nThe only way to get the money back that you've paid is to sell.  But then you'll just have to buy another house or move back in with your parents or something.  :)\n\nOr you could sell your apartments.
1024625
You may, but you will have to rent the house back to live in it.\n\nWhat you essentially need is to remorgage your house. Perhaps to free up your cash.
797301
if you have lived in the house for 2 of the last 5 years the tax on anything less than $250,000 profit is ZERO. ( $500,000 for a couple)\nif your gain is more than that or you do not qualify, then they charge about 5% on the gain (profit) for poor people and 10% or 15% for others.\nif you have not lived in the house two years, but maybe 6 mo or 1 year, you may qualify for the maximum exclusion rule if there is a good reason for selling and moving. ask tax man to explain it to you.\n maybe they will give you a percentage of the $250,000  exemption pro-rated, say $125,000 for 1 year etc.\n\n if the house is a rental, you can do a 1031 and use the money from it to buy another house. ( then have zero tax to pay now) then after the sale. you can get a loan on the new house to pull out your equity.( not the other way around) check with tax guy for advice. the tax is seferred until you sell without rebuying. or it is waived if you die and pass the house on. that is the best way.