[bigwavedave]

IMO a trust is the way to go. Will probably cost $2500 to $4000 to set up, but prevents your heirs from spending multiples of that on probate fees. I’m a recent beneficiary of an A-B trust. No probate, no estate tax

Every situation is different so you should consult an attorney that specializes in these things before making any rash decisions. Consultations are almost always free. I think by simply putting your kids name on title would be interpreted as a gift and then subject you and/or them to the gift tax.

If you sell the houses before you die (living in them for at least two out of five years before the sale) the accumulated depreciation would reduce the cost basis, but the $250K/$500K exclusion would apply. In your case the accumulated depreciation looks to give you below zero cost basis, so it looks likely you would be above the exclusion limits.

[bigwavedave]

Thanks for all of your opinions. I’ve been a long time lurker, so I figured I’d get both educational and entertaining feedback.
I wasn’t disappointed.

Yes, option 3 is the best way. Maybe I should have been more forcefull in the beginning and not even gotten any AC bids, but she
said she wanted to pay for it. I do think she was under the impression that total cost would be around $2K, so hopefully the bids
I got will take her back a bit. For now my plan is to kick the can down the road. Temps here topped out at 93F one day. Hot,
but not brutal. Kids should get outside and run through the sprinklers.

With regards to the window air conditioners, Just prior to renting among many other improvements I made, I installed brand new
double pane vinyl replacement windows throughout. All of them are sliders, 6 ft wide x 4 ft high in the 3 bedrooms, 8ft wide in
the master. I just don’t think a window air conditioner can be installed very well. I worry about the cantelevered weight on the
wide vinyl windows almost certainly causing some damage. They would also have to install a lot of blocking above the window ac
unit. If left in place over winter it would probably leak and cause water damage. Could eat up that deposit quickly. As far as
eyesore factor I do care, because I still have friends in the neighborhood, including both sides.

There’s no way I’m going to ‘gift’ any part of a capital improvement to a tenant. Not interested in a cost sharing project. If
she was a longer term good tenant then I’d be more inclined to entertain the idea of installing AC for an increased monthly rent
(or maybe let the tenant pay for it). But this is new tenant, and I have no idea if I’ll want to renew the lease in a year. Even
though she came with a good credit score, owns a local business, 3yr occupancy in previous rental house with no late payments I
have no longstanding experience with her as a tenant – it’s too early for me to go out on a limb.

I’ve got some unresolved problems with letting a tenant pay for it. First of all, the installation would be a contract between me
and the contractor. I would require an upfront payment from the tenant to procede which would have to be accompanied some other
kind of contract between me and the tenant. Assuming the best and there are no problems with the landlord-tenant side contract I
am not sure how the tenant payment to me would be treated for tax purposes. I think most probably it would have to be treated as
income – the capital improvement would then be a monthly depreciating expense. If I do the project late in the year I get screwed
on taxes. In this case I do not have any history with the tenant – the trust factor isn’t there yet to enter this kind of
contract without some legal/professional oversight which will cost me money – I’m double screwed.

I would be willing to pay for the improvement if I can recoup the cost over say 24 months through higher rent. I’d want a 2 year
lease as well before proceding. That works out to about $200/month more based on the $5K bid I have. Negligable impact on me as
far as taxes. Thing is if this tenant turns out to be a flake I may not want her around for 2 more years. The $200/mo extra rent
puts my property on the higher end, if the lease is broken early I’m not sure I can rent to someone else at the higher rent. Near
term I only see central AC as an incentive or bonus to prospective tenants – not really worth the extra rent I would have to get
to pay for the improvement. Very few homes in this tract have AC now.

Longer term I do see the benefit of central air. It seems the younger people these days are less able to cope with any form
discomfort. Kids just seem to want to stay inside with the windows shut at a constant 70°F. My primary residence a few miles away
from the rental property came with central air when we bought it, which I thought was rediculous. I think I’ve used it twice –
back in 1997. But I think that times are changing, more people will expect air conditioning.

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