We’re are thinking of starting a business which would rent furnished housing…and we would like to know how the tax laws work. Could we write off all the expenses for the furnished house even if we are temporarily occupying it (owner occupied investment property)? If so how long could we occupy property before moving out and buying our next one?
Our idea for this is that we could write off all of our expenses (with the exception of groceries, supplies etc) and that way we would not have to move our furniture but could simply buy more furnishings in the new property.
To do it properly you may want to transfer the property into a LLC or partnership or Corp and then lease the house back to yourself or family members. The Company could write off the expenses that may not be deductible on your personal returns. There may not be much difference and much actual tax savings but it could help.
When I first started I was buying cheap and getting 10 year amortized loans. When I started building my house and had equity in the property I refinanced and pulled out some cash and did 30 year loans. I got greedy and refinanced them all. When things got bad for me I lost all the houses. You may want to read my success story that I wrote a while back on this site.