minnesota property tax

Real estate investing can be seen as a complex issue, but that is only because there are so many choices. When you invest, you have a virtually unlimited array of ways to make money. But that entails being able to make choices. You have to decide how much you will learn about each aspect of real estate, whom to add to your team, where to seek properties, whether a particular property is a good one for you–and on and on.

One question you will find yourself faced with is what to do with a property once you have purchased it. You may not be the type of investor who wants to buy a property and hold on to it for a long time. You may not want to deal with property managers and tenants or to see to the upkeep of a piece of real estate. If these things don’t appeal to you in the slightest, your other option is flipping.

Flipping a property is simply the practice of selling it as soon as you buy it, often at the same closing. At the very latest, flippers tend to begin the selling process the day of the sale. Some even begin before they own the property, which is very risky business. However one goes about doing it, flipping always entails a mad rush to the auction block because an empty property is always a liability.

However, when you hold a property, you have the opportunity to raise that property’s value. If you get a really good deal, the amount you have paid for it will probably be a drop in the bucket compared to what you stand to make from it. And when you do decide to sell it, you will be able to do so at your leisure and get more than you would have by flipping.

This holds true especially if you property is a multi-family dwelling such as an apartment high rise. If it is a good property in a good location, and you take care of it, chances are that occupancy is going to stay up. With a property like that, your earnings tend to increase exponentially. With good management, that is almost guaranteed.

Speaking of management, you will need to decide whether you will do that yourself or hire a management company to do that for you. If you own a particularly large piece, or if you own many pieces, you will have to hire a manager. Ken McElroy, author of “The ABCs of Real Estate Investing,” strongly suggests that you hire a real estate management company so that your talents and your time will be put to better use elsewhere.

Those are the sorts of things you will have to consider if you hold a property.

Ultimately, however, whether you flip a property or hold it depends on what you would rather spend your time doing. Perhaps you thrive on the fast-pace workday that flipping entails. Maybe the adrenaline rush feels like an adventure to you. In that case, you should learn the proper way to flip properties (i.e., wait until you actually own a property to sell it and don’t approach buyers at the very closing where you acquired a property).

However, if the idea of nurturing a property appeals to you, then buying and holding is the way to go. Depending on your talents, you personally may be able to make more money working one way as opposed to another. It’s totally up to you.

About The Author: Alex Anderson Has a Website for Minnesota Real Estate and Assists Buyers To Purchase Investment Property in Minnesota As Well As National Investors Looking to Buy Investment Property.

Property tax refund question for state of Minnesota?

I’m listed as a co-buyer on a house that my parents bought for me to live in during college. This year when my dad did my taxes, he listed the house under my name and I just got a check for $648 for property tax refund? In the past couple years my dad has filed the house under his name and has never gotten a property tax refund. But this year he listed it under my name and I think I received the refund because I only made like 11,000 last year. Now my dad thinks the money is his..but I think it is mine because we got the check probably because of my low income. Who should the money go to?

I would be careful about this one. If the IRS sees that ownership changed without money changing hands, and the result was a tax benefit, they might think you were doing something unethical. There isn’t any specific reason that either one of you should be entitled to the $648. I mean, you’re living in a house because of them, so presumably that money is a tiny fraction of the total benefit you get from this transaction. On the other hand, if they can afford to let you live in a house but can’t afford to miss a few hundred dollars they didn’t even see coming, something else is up.

I would recommend that you agree to some split that will apply to this tax payment and all future tax payments from the house. You don’t want to have this argument every year.

Perspective: Problems (and solutions) with Minnesota’s property tax code