Thanks for the response, Karl.
I am working with the remaining lenders now and hopefully we can agree on more reasonable terms.
I have a question for you or Greg about separating the mobile home from land for tax purposes. I called the county to ask them but they were no help.
I have a land/home deal that is financed with private money. The home was in really bad shape when I purchased so the loan is attached only to the land. Right now the mobile home sitting on the property is considered Real property. But I have the free and clear titles(doublewide) to the home in hand.
What would be the best strategy for separating the two? Both the home and land are in one entity, so could I take the title to the dmv and have it placed into a personal property trust or LLC to give different owners on record between the two? Then go to the property appraisers office and have it considered personal property again?
I hope that question is explained clearly enough. I would appreciate your input on how you would approach this.
Thanks guys!
Cole, title the home in any third party name (I use Land Trust for lot and LLC for home) and put your new MH sticker on the home. Then call the Property tax office and have the home removed from the tax roll. Do this NOW so you don’t have to pay next year.
In my subdivisions its a HUGE difference - 70% savings or more! Might be less in a more rural area. Just look at the current assessment for land and improvements to see for yourself.
Karl
I probably will not post in any detail until 1/1/11. Busy, busy, busy when a lot of people are wishing they could be busy (e.g. not unemployed), for which I am very thankful. Bottom line:
Tax practice is doing very, very well. I have some very high-quality (and well-paid) employees who deal with day-to-day issues (e.g. filing tax returns). I get to do much more research and create products (e.g. IRS Collects the Rent, etc) and get questions from staff on more complex returns and planning issues, which are always the fun questions. Bottom line, an hour of my time spent on research, getting clients or helping staff on more exotic issues pays me far better than any other activity, including MH parks.
Given that we are doing well and staff has really come into its own, I have much more time than I have had in years. I spend it on children (14, 11 & 10, what fun ages) and in Chile (2 months this year, still worked on practice and client issues from there), and increasingly, in local politics trying to make a positive difference. I will also be coaching debate for at least one of the local high schools for the next eight years.
Thankfully, we bought the Indiana parks cheap, real cheap. Infill is slow, mainly because I spend very little time on it. We do put in mid-90’s 3BR metal homes and they fill fast and tend to stay filled. 95% of my issues come from 2BR homes, which are slowly getting phased out, we tend to tear them down when they vacate. There is a very strong correlation with spending about a week of time on the parks and an immediate increase in infill and cash flow. But it simply has been low on the list of priorities.
That’s it for now,
Post Edited (12-16-10 08:32)