I've been renting in Manhattan forever, but now am seriously considering buying. I have enough capital for a sizable down payment but am worried about Board acceptance and financing because of my occupation. Does anyone know what issues I should expect to overcome because I'm an independent Trader???
It will depend much on how long you have been trading, and the consistency of your results. These folks want reliability. If less than 2 years, then you'll likely have problems, especially with financing.
Exactly what you have to do. If you are a trader in the eyes of a lender you are a gambler. If you start and LLC and trade through your business you are a businessman. Traders can't get a mortgage -- simple as that. Start and LLC and list your occupation as "investor." Problem solved.
See this is how you want to trade. Also, you could buy or start a small business on the side. All money spent on the business is deductible from taxes.
Be VERY careful with this. I know someone personaly that got audited and hammered on this deduction. The Auditor showed up at his house and measure His Desktop and that SqFt(age) % to the overall % of the house and that was the max he could claim. IRS isn't screwing around with the Home/Office Car/Work deductions anymore. Speak to a CPA. But for a Mortgage definately be a businessman not a Trader.
Just pay for the house in cash. That's what I am going to do. However, many traders will tell you that you are better off renting and leveraging your $ on trading. I just want a stable environment for my daughter.
Even in this down market, a decent apartment in NYC goes for well over 1M. I want to keep as much of my bank as possible, while capitalizing on this investment opportunity. The LLC sounds good! And I would think if you designated an entire room for your office, that you should be deductible! But I'll talk to my accountant. Thanks! Does anyone know of a site that specifically instructs a trader how best to setup their LLC???