George Skidis

Warning: Your FIRST LLC Tax Return is due March 15th the year after it is set up. So if you set it up in 2021 your first tax return is due March 15th 2022 - EVEN IF YOU DIDN"T MAKE A DIME! The late filing penalty is $290 per month per member. 4 months late with 5 members the penalty is $5,800. Make sure you file on time. I prepare almost 200 tax returns a year. When it comes to an LLC the IRS will let you choose how you wish to be taxed. As a Multi Member LLC you can be taxed as a Partnership. Not a way to save any money. You can choose C-Corp, also not a great choice. However without looking at anyone's tax returns I would think an S-Corp would be your best choice. It allows principals to receive a distribution which is not subject to self employment tax only passive income tax. Example: The LLC makes a profit after expenses of $100,000 and there are two members. If the LLC issues paychecks to each member of $30,000 ($60,000 total) that leaves $40,000 not subject to self employment tax. Each member then receives a distribution of $20,000. That saves around 15.3% self employment tax or $3,060 per member. They will still pay income tax depending on their individual income tax bracket but they saved $3,060 each on self employment taxes. Each of you should purchase "The Tax and Legal Playbook" by Mark J. Kohler and study this topic in more detail. Your LLC also needs an operating agreement to holdup in court. If you treat it just like a C-Corporation when it comes to maintaining meetings, minutes and record keeping it will protect you. Failure to do so can end up with the LLC being set aside. This works just like a when a judge allows a plaintiff to pierce the corporate veil and pursue each officer individually. Lee Phillips at LegalLees.com has a great course on LLCs. Let me know if I can help you with that. Good Luck and Good Investing

Are your members earning PHP credit and working towards Earning the PHP Designation? Does your REIA need a speaker to that can cover both the INCOME TAX, INSURANCE & ETHICS requirements in a Saturday Seminar? George Skidis has worked in the insurance industry since 1980. During that time he has worked as a Field Underwriter, Insurance Adjuster for both Property & Liability Claims, Public Insurance Adjuster representing the policy owner and Insurance Agent. George is a licensed insurance agent in four (4) states. In addition to Co-Managing Varski Properties with his wife Maria, George also runs Skidis & Co. an Insurance Sales and Income Tax Return preparation company.. He personally prepares over 180 tax returns a year. Many of those returns are for Real Estate investors. If you would like to have a Saturday Seminar that meets the education requirements, is informative, entertaining and explains the connection between The Pirates of the Caribbean and Worker's Compensation Insurance then you need to hire George to teach your seminar. George spent 20 years on the board and as President of a not for profit REIA. He is President and Founder of Illinois REIA a National REIA Chapter located in Southern Illinois. He has also served on the board of National REIA for almost 9 years serving in various capacities including Treasurer and Vice President. The cost to your REIA is minimal compared to the accomplishment of getting these PHP classes in the books for your members. Call George at 618-520-8999 for more information and to schedule him to speak at your REIA.

There are several tools available for your use in locating deals. Some are free and others come with a minimal cost.1. Find a Real Estate Agent that understands what you want in a property If they are hungry for business they will find it for you. We purchased our first dozen properties with the same agent.2. If you are not a member of a local Real Estate Investors Association, Join one. Go to https://nationalreia.org/ and click on find a local group.3. Your local REIA has access to RealFlow a software search engine starting as low as $7.99 a month4. Once you find a property look into House Canary here on uniting investors and get an accurate evaluation of what it can be,If you don't have a local REIA go to www.ILREIA.com and join us to access phenomenal benefits of membership.

Shipping Container Homes and Tiny Houses fall into what I refer to as a niche market. It might be fun for a while but I believe resale will be difficult unless the economy is oppressed by real estate taxes. Higher real estate taxes encourage us to think small again.Shipping container homes are just that, the cargo box off of a tractor trailer that has been tricked out to live in. You see shipping containers in many ports and railroad terminals around the country.It is an interesting lifestyle choice with kits starting around $24,000 and up to how much do you want to pay. The trick as you have learned is you need a place to park it.Cities with an occupancy inspection and that require building permits will not be good choices to locate your box. That leaves counties away from big cities. Big cities are where a huge portion of the population goes to work. Are you planning on commuting or retiring?Utilities are another issue.Water: Do you want to dig a well and have a septic system? Do you know how far apart to place your septic system from your fresh water well? Do you know that the type of soil and substrata impact those distances in dramatic ways?Power: Do you want electricity? How far are you willing to pay to have it run to your property? Are you considering solar? How do you feel about a propane tank in the back yard? Have you ever seen a BLEVE? BLEVE is an acronym for “Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion”. BLEV-ee) is an explosion caused by the rupture of a vessel containing a pressurized liquid above its boiling point. If you are that far out in the country there might not be a volunteer fire department.It looks like you were caught flat footed and did not get that permission in writing. At the current time I cannot think of a municipality within 25 miles of Saint Louis that would permit this as it looks to much like a mobile home and they as well as the parks they stay in are being eradicated by the local municipalities whenever possible.However, I not only like the concept of a container home, but also manage a mobile home park. If you can get it approved by the county and the Illinois Department of Public Health I have a lot for you at $275.00 a month which includes water, sewer and trash. Only 15 minutes from downtown Saint Louis. The park retains the right of first right of refusal if you choose to sell it and move on. If the container home comes with a title you should find out if you can get it installed in a mobile home park.

Spring is a great time to make the exterior easier to maintain. While going green it is also a good time to prune out the bad noxious weeds and other times.1. Spray an eco friendly plant killer along fence lines and around houses.2. Practice the original crime free guidelines by pruning back trees and shrubs which block the street view of the dwelling and provide a place for thieves and criminals to hide.3. Make sure that exterior lighting is working and adequate.

Ballast Free LEDs to replace guts in a four foot florescent light fixture.We have a commercial building that is a mix of T-8 and T-12 Florescent light fixtures. Each bulb draws 40 watts. Each ballast draws a minimum of 25 watts. A four bulb 2 ballast light fixture draws a minimum of 210 watts when operating efficiently as they age that creeps up towards 250 watts. Additionally old ballasts give off lots of heat as well. T-8 ballasts don't last as long a T-12 ballast. We are in the process of converting our lights to ballast fee LED strips which draw 17 watts per bulb. Each LED bulb produces 1900 lumens so that two LED bulbs will replace 4 fluorescent bulbs. Example: Four (4 bulb & two ballast) T-12 Fluorescent light fixtures were drawing about 1000 watts when operating. They were gutted and rewired to Ballast free LEDs. Total operating draw is now 8 x 17watts or 136 watts.The existing light fixture has a line coming into it for power. We removed the 4 bulbs, the protective metal cover and two ballasts. We then hard wired the LED strip lights into the fixture, replaced the protective metal cover and turned on the light switch. Takes about 10 minutes per light. The lights lock into the old supports for the T-8 or T-12 bulbs but draw no power there. They are hard wired and the old support sockets are only holding the bulbs now.The LED strip lights cost $24.95 each and work great.Good Luck and Good Investing

In my opinion House Canary in combination with RealFlow make a terrific marketing team. The new way to prospect.1. Get your leads or more leads using RealFlow.2, Use google maps to view the property and the neighborhood.3. Check Zillow or some other free app to get a feel for the property leads developed.4. Drive by your list of properties and do an exterior inspection. Look for distress, realtor signs etc.5. If it has your interest use House Canary to nail it down and get information for making a good offer.6. Contact an experienced realtor who is a member of you REIA. and get their feedback7. After getting their feedback make the offer using an experienced realtor who is a member of your REIA. The old way.1. Drive around looking for signs and properties you are interested in.2. Team up with a realtor and drive around with them looking at MLS listings.3. Check recent sales4. Make an offer.Things to look out for.1. Do groups of teenagers roam the streets.2. Ratio of boarded up houses / Vacant houses / Abandoned houses.3. Age of community4. Sales at copurthouse steps.These are all great tips but must be used in a real world scenario. Do you want to rent section 8. The boarded up houses may not be a problem. Do you want to rent to executives, buy in a better neighborhood.Everything depends on your comfort level and the niche you wish to tackle.

Sites like Zillow and others like it are a Guestimate. Sometimes realistic and sometimes not. Your better bet is to try House Canary which is available to REIA members right here on Uniting Investors. It lets you answer questions that help determine the value of a property.Disclaimer: A really nice house in a really bad neighborhood will not sell for top dollar. No matter what the cost calculators say.

Did I mention that he pays his rent a week or two BEFORE the due date.

This was just to crazy not to share. However, It actually worries me for a couple of reasons.1. Did the applicant just admit they were not mentally competent to sign the lease?2. If not competent is the lease/contract even binding?3. What happens if eviction comes up and the lease is voided by the court due to mental capacity?What do you think?

The number one thing they call about is some excuse about why the rent will be late. I promise them that the 5 day notice won't be.

The fact that people call to rent a mobile home when the sign clearly says "Mobile home LOTS for rent"

Step 0. Join your local REIA. REIA stands for Real Estate Investors Association. Go to https://nationalreia.org/ move your cursor over the membership tag. You will then see a drop down menu. Select Find a REIA. Then follow the map to your location. This will help you find a group in your area that is either a Chapter or affiliate of the National Real Estate Investors Association, Inc. They are phenominal in helping new investors and providing experience and benefits to experienced investors.If you are near Saint Louis, MO or Southern Illinois check out The Illinois Real Estate Investors Association, Inc. or Illinois REIA. We have at least four meetings each month. We meet in Belleville, Marion and Wood River, Illinois as well as Saint Louis, MO.Go to www.ilreai.com for more details.

You have three options1. Grin and Bear it. - Not my recommendation2. Place a substantial money in escrow. - Still a hazard.3. Break the contract.The issue is that the shoddy workmanship you see makes you wonder about all the other short cuts the contractor made that you can't see.Example, the sewer cap. You can see the surface is plugged with cement. How far down does the cement go? Does it block any connecting drain lines? Was the sewer drain actually a drain for some other purpose. A lot of older homes had floor drains because of a high water table. Any history of subsurface water innundating the basement and needing a place to go. That would not be considered a back of of sewer and drains under your homeoner's policy, It is also not meet the definition of a general condition of flooding for coverage under a flood insurance policy. Ready for a wet basement?Definition of a flood under FEMA and National Flood insurance guidlines: The innundation of two or more acres or two or more properties. The source should be a lake, river, resevior or similar item. City Sewers and private cisterns and septic tanks are not included in this list.Back up of Sewer and Drains is not normally included in a homeowners policy but can be added by endorsement. Even when not covered an on premises blockage which causes liquids and solids to back up into the property not caused by the sewer system "May" be covered.: Here are two reccomendations:1. Look for a legal way to terminate the contract. Has the Seller "Breached" the contract?2. Next time perform due dilligence on the contractror. Make sure they have the knowledge to do the work.

Spring is a great time to make the exterior easier to maintain. While going green it is also a good time to prune out the bad noxious weeds and other times.1. Spray an eco friendly plant killer along fence lines and around houses.2. Practice the original crime free guidelines by pruning back trees and shrubs which block the street view of the dwelling and provide a place for thieves and criminals to hide.3. Make sure that extrior lighting is working and adequate.

Hello Uniting Investors, I have a couple of questions for you.Has anyone ever hired a company to divide multiple units on one water meter and sub meter them?Do you know someone who has dealt with sub-metering?Do you have any reccomendations on who to hire for sub-metering?

$239,000 / 12 = $19,961.67 per unit. Not a bad price range depending on the location and condition of the properties. Unless the property is really nice, Varski Properties tries to pay about $15,000.00 per unit when purchasing a multifamily. We are in the Midwest and that would influence our price decision.A decade or so ago Florida had built way to many condos. Check to see if that has resolved itself.The answer below is based upon homes not located in a gated community or subject to condo fees that would be an immediate no. Cash only is a unique requirement by the Seller. The big question is the Seller’s motive for this requirement. What is it? Is it possible the property has already been appraised for less than the asking price? Has it been turned down for financing? Is the Seller trying to prevent the buyer from obtaining a fair market appraisal? Maybe it is just that the last four deals fell apart because the potential buyers did not qualify for loans. You need to know why the Seller is insisting on a cash deal. What is the hidden motive? The downside is that you use up all of your cash and have nothing in reserve. What happens if an even better deal surfaces? What about unforeseen emergencies? The other red flag, based upon how the question was written, is it sounds like the real estate agent is the person pushing the cash deal and also the one offering terms. Does the real estate agent have access to that kind of money? It looks like a conflict of interest for the real estate agent to offer the cash for the deal. You stated, “He says he can get private lending for 10% and 30% down, interest only payments. I've said I can do $220k at 25% down. This will leave me with decent reserves.” 10% interest sounds more like a hard money lender. Go to http://www.bankrate.com/partners/sem/mortgage-groupb.aspx?type=refinance&market=253&propertyvalue=212500&loan=170000&perc=20&prods=215,393,216,392,219,221,220&fico=740&points=Zero&cs=0&s_kwcid=AL!1325!3!105250827608!b!!g!!compare%20mortgage%20refinance%20rates&gclid=CITn7dXsmtICFR62wAodbWwH_Q&ef_id=WKjfZQAAAKgB3rfD:20170218235725:s to check out current rates and try to negotiate it down to current commercial rates. 30 Year fixed home mortgage rates are under 5% right now. Does the Seller at least agree to closing at a title company? We never close a deal without title insurance. Without a bank there may be a push to close quickly for cash and no title search. We sold a home back in 1998 and offered a 10% seller carry back. Less than a month later the buyer had a job offer in Mississippi and collected down payments from two cash buyers which he used as getaway money. Our paper work which included a recorder mortgage allowed us to take over the property and manage it to recover our seller financing. There could be a flaw in the title. Things you need to do before going any further. 1.Determine why the Seller has a cash only condition.2.Get a Real Estate Appraisal from someone you trust.3.Contact a loan officer you trust and ask them to evaluate the deal.4.Get a home inspection by the best company you can find.5.Conduct extra due diligence to make sure there are no surprises.6.Check with the listing agent’s broker to confirm that the Seller is actually requiring an all cash deal.7.Get an independent broker price opinion BPO.8.Include all of the regular buyer clauses if a contract is signed and add the ones above as well. Without a mortgage and lender involved you are on the hook if the deal goes south or they take your money and hand you worthless paper. If you choose to do this deal protect yourself against any contingency. Without more details Varski Properties would not proceed. If more favorable information was developed we might reconsider.

Your welcome and yes that is how it is calculated.

The Section 8 voucher program is funded by the federal government through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). With a Section 8 voucher the applicant can live anywhere in the jurisdiction of the local Section 8 Housing Authority. Two Agencies in Saint Clair County, IL In this county I am aware of two government entities that administer the program. The “Saint Clair County Housing Authority” (SCCHA) and the “East Saint Louis Housing Authority” (ESLHA). A short time ago the ESLHA lost its authority to administer the program. Click HERE for more information. All participants in the ESLHA program, both landlords and participants, were transferred into the SCCHA with no loss of benefits. Currently the ESLHA being considered for reinstatement into the program. If the participant moves, they can take the voucher with them. After the first year, you can use the voucher anywhere in the country. Section 8 Housing Voucher For a listing of authorities and agencies which administer the Section 8 housing choice program, look for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program in your area. The housing authority or regional nonprofit where the participant applies determines whether they are eligible for a voucher. The administrator calculates how much the participant’s share of the rent is. This can be as low as 10% or as high as 100% of the rent depending on the participant’s income. In our experience it has normally been between 30 to 50 percent of the monthly rent for the unit. While a housing agency is required to do an adult criminal record check, in general, landlords who take Section 8 are responsible for screening and selecting their own tenants. For more information about tenant screening see “The Ins and Outs of Tenant Screening” by George N. Skidis, Jr. When the participant first receives a Section 8 voucher, they have a certain period of time to find a house or apartment. This is called the search period. They must enter into a lease with a participating landlord before the search period ends or the voucher expires. Search Time All housing authorities and regional nonprofits must give the participant a minimum of at least 60 days’ search time. It can go higher depending upon the local authorities’ internal guidelines. Each housing authority and regional nonprofit also sets its own policy about how long and how often it will extend this 60-day search period and for what reasons. The housing agency may also determine whether the search period should be frozen or suspended. Good reasons for extending or freezing the participant’s search period are that they have been hospitalized or are otherwise unable to engage in housing search for reasons beyond their control. Additionally they may have submitted a request for an apartment to be approved and are waiting for a final decision. Housing Packet Each voucher recipient receives a packet with which they can go and search for a home. The packet contains a lease and other items the landlord must consider before accepting or rejecting a participant. A landlord who is willing to rent to a household with a Section 8 voucher holder submits a form provided in the packet sometimes called a “Request for Tenancy Approval to the local authority. This form must state the total rent to owner for the apartment and which utilities will be paid for by the landlord and by the tenant. Reasonable Rent The rent must be reasonable, which means that it must be similar to the rents charged for unassisted private market apartments of similar size, amenities, and condition in the premises and in the same community or environs. In addition to the requirement that the rent to owner be reasonable, the housing authority must determine that the family’s portion of the rent will not exceed 40% of income at lease signing. This means that the difference between the housing authority’s payment standard (maximum subsidy payment) for the unit and the tenant’s portion of the housing costs (rent paid to the owner plus any tenant-paid utilities as determined by the housing authority’s utility allowances) cannot be more than 10% of household income. Most housing authorities set their payment standards between 90% and 110% of the Fair Market Rents published by HUD each year. A higher payment standard may be established as a reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities, which can allow them to rent more expensive units if needed. The Lease Once a request for tenancy approval is submitted, the housing authority then approves or rejects this rent, inspects the apartment to make sure that it is habitable, and reviews the lease. http://ilreia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Lease.jpg Once an apartment is approved the landlord and tenant sign a lease provided by the local housing authority. The landlord may also present their lease for the participant’s signature, but the Section 8 lease overides it when they are in conflict. Usually a lease has a term of one year. During this first year, the landlord can terminate the lease only for good cause. This includes violation of the lease and non payment of rent for the participant’s portion. Moving Out For the participant to move out in the first year of the lease they must get the landlord’s agreement to break the lease. They may break the lease if someone in the household is a victim of domestic violence or stalking and they need to relocate in order to be safe. They may also break the lease if the landlord fails to correct code violations cited by a city or state agency. Depending upon local law they may also have the right to break the lease with reasonable notice. The landlord can choose not to renew the lease after the first year without having to state a good cause. The participant may claim that the landlord’s failure to renew is really because they are discriminating against the participant because they have a Section 8 voucher. If this happens the landlord may have to prove that the tenant violated the lease or that the landlord has a business reason for not renewing it. For more on Federal HJousing Discrimination click HERE. In addition to having a lease and business relationship with the tenant, the landlord also has a business relationship with the local authority which administers the Section 8 voucher program. This means you will notices of inspection and demands from the program administrator as well as the resident. The administrator can withhold the monthly voucher payment until the landlord is in compliance. Hostile Termination The housing agency can terminate either the landlord or the resident from the Section 8 program if it believes that either of them may have violated any Section 8 program rules. For the landlord this means not maintain the property, trying to work out side deals or other actions in addition to the rent. For the resident this includes not properly reporting income, family composition (moving in a spouse or special friend) or engaging in fraud. If this happens the terminated party can request an informal hearing to show why they should not be dropped from the program. Summary In summary the Section 8 Voucher program places extra duties upon the landlord but is worth it. Most of our residents have stayed over 10 years. One just reached their 20th anniversary last June. It has its challenges, but the rewards can be great.

Assistance lets them choose a better lifestyle. Without government assitance many of my current and former residents could not afford a place to live at all. It is government intrusion that says a 3 bedroom is not big enough for a family of 8. My Aunt and Uncle raised 11 children in a three bedroom house and had my aunt's mother living there as well. They all grew up just fine.However, today they would be accused of some crime or another.The bottom line is everyone wants a nice clean place to live. If assistance lets them get something a little bigger so much the better.

Your comments are true to an extent. But Section 8 distorts your bell curve.Section 8 renters also like single family homes. In my 30 years as a landlord my section 8 renters have been predominately single women with three or more children. We rent 3/1 and 4/1 homes to section 8 residents on a regular basis. One of our residents with Section 8 assistance celebrated her 20 year anniversary in our home last June. Most stayed over 10 years.Item one and three of your premise needs to exclude residents who recieve assistance to pay their rent. They are not higher income earners and were seldom if ever married. However, when the father of the children was around or actually living in the house the children did better and there was not less damage to the property.Again, speaking on my experience, most of the time multifamily renters do not stay as long as SFR residents.There are exceptions.Mutlifamily renters do have children, but due to the fact that most multifaimily units are only 1 or 2 bedroom residences, they don't always get the opportunity.

A New First. - Had a tenant reviewing a lease. Advised I am not an attorney and they have the right to take the contract to their attorney for review. He explained to me that He was a speed reader, and only read every other line and that was enough to understand the lease agreement. That was how he managed to graduate from high school.