How does that work ? Could you please elaborate ? Thanks.

 

+1 I was thinking the same thing.

Another idea..... my accountant told me that the government is bringing back the window tax credit in 2010 or maybe 2009 I can't be sure, which basically means if you have an older house and replace your windows with energy efficient ones you can write some of it off your taxes. So keep your eye out for things like this as well.

 

Yeah but for how long have you been that way? When I went to buy my trailer I had a hard time getting financed, they said that since my truck had been paid for for so long and I didn't have any other major loans my credit score dropped off, or something to that effect. It was weird being that i had a decent sized down payment and they still fussed about it. Oh well I got it, thats all that mattered.

It may have had something to do with the fact that when we started paying things off our crdit score was low due to things happeneing and paying everything off didn't boost it up that far?

 

I agree with you in part, heavyhaulerss. Property is at an all time low so as the investors say, "buy when the market is down" as it would be a good time to buy stock, if you are cozy about the company not going down the pipes. But both of those types of investments are going to have to be long term waiting on the economy. Who knows, it might be your grandkids getting the return.

As far as property being a write off, not so much but to the point it reduces any income you may get while owning the property and can only show a loss for three years. If it has a structure on it, again, you'll have the depreciation for the building but not the land which is a good thing if it is income property. Not a great thing when you sell the property and have to declare capital gains.

 

The deduction is for any energy improvement made to your house doesn't have to be just windows, the deduction is 30% I believe.

 

Originally Posted by heavyhaulerss
I would buy property. something that appreciates & also has a write off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graymist View Post
How does that work ? Could you please elaborate ? Thanks.


When I bought my equip over 10 years ago. I paid cash for everything. everything! I started doing well. when it came close to looking at what would be my tax situation. I had nothing to write off. now I could of bought a newer truck, but I liked mine. there was nothing wrong with it & it was paid for. I had a choice to spend money on something that depreciates, but has a write off or spend it on something that appreciates in value & also has a write off. so the first year in trucking I bought a 1700 sq ft house. I typically put a few thousand down & finance for 5-8 years. so every year instead of lots of chrome, or a newer truck or trailer, I would buy a piece of property.

the interest on the mortgage, the ins, prop tax, repairs, upgrades, e.t.c. are all write offs. so to sum it up... after over 10 years with the same truck & trailer I have purchased a total of 25 properties. of witch 10 homes sit on. plus a few parcels of commercial property witch one I have leased for 5 years ending this august. the type of real estate investing I do has not been affected by the real estate slump or the credit crunch. it has in fact helped me quite a bit more.

as far as depreciation on the property.. I decide every year how much to depreciate on each parcel of land. I don't plan on selling any of it. maybe when I am 65 or older. I may or may not sell. so every year, it's another property or a newer truck. I would rather keep my truck & take what I would put down on another truck & put that down on another house & then take what would be truck payments & apply it to the new house, witch usually is not needed cause the rent takes care of the expenses. there is a lot more detailed info on what I do, but I don't want to brag or bore anyone with the details. I'm sure you get the idea.

 

Heck with all that land you could start a coolie carrier! Got all the land you need for terminals! ;P

 

I will say that I have invested heavily in the market & was soooo fortunate to get out in '99. I could do the ira thing & other investments. I like tangible investments. things I can see & touch. plus the liquidity of it. options on my property = rent it out, lease it out, get a low interest loan on it, sell it, live in it. use as collateral on a truck loan, . there is just something about the feeling when I pull into a driveway on my property & look at the dwelling & think I own that, & it has electricity, plumbing & windows & everything you would need to live in it, & it's MINE. it is so much better than pulling out a stack of paper work & figuring out what my ira is worth this month.


it's just my gig. that's all. It's what I love to do. I love it cause, I control it. that is security & peace of mind for me. I know without a doubt I am blessed to have all the opportunities that came my way. & I give back too, & even giving back has it's write offs even though I am not looking for them.

 

I really wish I would of been more careful when I was younger. I made a lot of stupid decisions and destroyed my credit. Had I known then what I know about credit, I may very well be on the same path, I have the knowledge but not the means to do much of anything . My goal right now is to save up for a truck of my own. Right now I can barely afford to keep myself going let alone buy a truck! But I am working on it. I found a lease / buy to own program where I only need to come up with $4000 to get going. I will probably end up paying a boat load in interest over the 36 month term, but without credit there isn't much I can do.

 

If you have no debt, you should have something better than credit…. it’s called money. If you have money, you do not need credit.