Bogleheads.org

Hello, I'm renovating my kitchen and looking at gas range alternatives. Just discovered Capital ranges, which have the features I want and reasonable prices. A web search turns up little discussion and almost no complaints. Anyone here have a Capital gas range? Thanks for any feedback, positive or n...

1. Is there a another, better approach? Is there something I am missing? The appliances were new in December, 2005 and six years old in January 2012. The used value of appliances is half or less. 2. Should I separate the appliances and use a different depreciation schedule? 3. Anticipating IRS ques...

In December, 2005 I purchased a newly built condo for $422k, which included about $22K in various upgrades. In July, 2011 I purchased another home, a great deal on a short sale. I tried selling the condo, first as FSBO and then listed with a broker, but never got a written purchase offer at any pric...

mickeyd » Tue Jan 22, 2013 8:06 pm "Why not combine them?" A good question. A while back I only had the Rollover IRA and I wanted to specify two groups of beneficiaries: family and charities. Vanguard beneficiary restrictions (guidelines?) prevented that, but they did advise me to open the...

Hello, 2013 is my first year taking a RMD. Last year I signed up for the Vanguard service, where they calculate your RMD based on your EOY IRA balances. I have both a Rollover and a Traditional IRA at Vanguard, but their letter specified an RMD based only on the Rollover IRA balance. I sent a messag...

Probably this has been discussed but my searching has not found anything relevant. I have two TIPS bonds, both bought in 2008 when they got cheap, with maturities in January 2016 and January 2018. They have appreciated due to the drop in interest rates since 2008, but bond prices have been drifting ...

No, I won't be getting an iPhone 5. I bought the iPhone 4 when it first came out; a great piece of technology but not a great cell phone, it could not compare to my Motorola RAZR so I returned the iPhone 4 to AT&T. Still using the RAZR but will have to get something new eventually. I don't need ...

We've all been helped tremendously by the expertise available on the Bogleheads web site but, as most of us have learned, there are some subjects one cannot bring up here, such as politics and health care. I'm asking for recommendations of other web sites that provide civilized and responsible discu...

my real estate experience is mostly in NJ, where an attorney was all but mandatory in the northern part of the state and far less common in the southern part of the state, where Title Insurance companies did the closings. (At one point the lawyers asked the NJ Supreme Court to require an attorney at...

I retired in 2001 and moved in 2005, from NJ to PA, which has no taxes on SS, Pension, IRA income.

Also spend 6-8 weeks in SW FL each winter, renting until I find the right place to buy.

An update on how I resolved my RMD/Table II/charity beneficiary problem. I emailed Vanguard to confirm both the Table II restriction for one primary beneficiary and Vanguard's restriction that all primary beneficiaries on all IRAs must be the same. Vanguard confirmed the IRS's Table II constraint. V...

I did a search to find discussions on this topic but found nothing useful. If this has been covered, please send a link. Next year I will begin taking RMDs. I am currently single and will use Table 1 to get started. My significant other will retire in another two years and we will then get married; ...

Actually, Wizard, I'm looking to spend more than the RMD in my 70's rather than wait for larger RMDs later, when I will be slowing down and spending less. I could easily spend less now - less travel, less entertainment, etc. - but there seems no strong reason to do so.
Ray

Hello ourbrooks

OK, now I understand the language confusion. Yes, anything over an RMD, that is targeted for a ROTH, would have to be done within the rules.
Regards
Ray

You might also want to look at your tax situation. If the RMD at age 70 knocks you into a higher tax bracket, withdrawing earlier in a lower bracket might make sense. Also, Roth contributions are limited to your taxable compensation; IRA withdrawals don't qualify as compensation. If you have a job ...

Thanks for the replies. To answer the questions: I do have other assets, a primary residence and a rental income property. Also have some funds outside of my IRA and ROTH, in IBonds and CDs. There is a significant other, J, who has her own house and IRA. When she retires in 2-3 years she will sell h...

I'm close to starting RMD and finally looked into the details. As most of you already know, RMDs begin around 4% at age 70.5, then grow each year - leading to higher RMDs at age 80 and beyond. But it seems likely my spending will decline (except perhaps for health care) once into the 80s and there i...

Hello, I'm posting for a friend, who now owns 4.6 acres that contains a small rental property. Her elderly father owned the land, along with other properties, and decided to divide the land among his three children before he passes; this was completed this week. He has been collecting rents on the r...

Yes, my question should have asked how to set a value for the condo that no one offered to buy. Pub 527 does state "Sales of similar property, on or about the same date, may be helpful in figuring the fair market value of the property." There have been very few sales in the complex, even f...

I'm now renting a condo that I could not sell. I have prior experience with rentals but have no recent experience with the relevant tax laws. Can anyone advise on current depreciation rules? Also, my previous rentals were bought for investment; I depreciated a portion of the purchase price. My new r...

ilmartello » Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:14 pm "I hope when you calculated your costs and determined 3 percent, you included the mortgage payments, condo association fees, property taxes, and a reasonable amount set aside for repair. Oh and you need insurance even with a condo for fire or other risks, i...

Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. I've now rented the condo to a retired couple who want to be near their grandkids. Overall a rather easy process although I was competing with the builder, who rents out finished units that have not sold. My capital in the unit is debatable since no on...

Thanks to all for the comprehensive replies. The comments on which company makes which brands is very helpful. My preference would be to stick with Whirlpool since refrigerators are a major product, not a subsidiary. I did not know that Sears/Kenmore was now using LG products, which means I will con...

Hello, I'm in the market for a new refrigerator, a french-door, bottom freezer model at counter depth. These seem to come in a large range of prices, none cheap, so I'd like to learn about user experience with top brands. As well, both LG and Samsung are being discounted by the big box retailers; an...

I retired at 58 and, when I reached 62, decided to delay collecting SS. But when I hit 65 I had to register with SSA for Medicare. The registration process is now on-line but, back then, it involved two separate telephone conversations with SS staff - in both of those conversations I got a lecture o...

Just do it - you will be glad you did. I worked with both Macs and Windows for much of my career but, in retirement, I heard the coming of Vista and decided to avoid it. Bought a Mac PowerBook Pro and never looked back. I did maintain an antique windows laptop, which soon was only used for Quicken; ...

Will your condo association allow you to rent it? Yes; there are no restrictions (yet) on rentals. The complex is still under construction, about 70% built and sold, with the builder occasionally renting an unsold unit. At current sales rates, the complex will take 3-4 years to complete. Changing t...

Do we have any orthopedic guys or folks with trigger finger experience? I've had a trigger finger for almost a year. One finger on my dominant hand. I had one cortisone injection, which provided relief for two-three months but it's back. I've been told the max on cortisone is two injections in one f...

Here in PA I've bought a new home and have my active adult condo up for sale. No surprise, it's a very slow market and no offers yet. I've also listed it for rent and have several contacts, one of which wanted to rent long term, five years or more. (He is 71 and doesn't want to move again.) So renti...

Thanks to all for the discussion and alternatives. I'm going to shut one heater down and let it sit, empty, until I need it. (I've been in my current home, with a 40 gallon heater, for five years and never had a problem.) I just checked and only the cold water input side has a valve, neither output ...

I've just closed on a home that has two 50 gallon gas-fired water heaters, which are connected in parallel with both working. The house is only five years old and, with only two of us, we don't really need 100 gallons of hot water. I've considered the following: 1. Shut one off and, once a month, re...

An interesting thread. I'm running a MBP w Snow Leopard and also have an iPad 2, which has been a disappointment so far. Given the amazing popularity of the IiPad I didn't spend much time researching it, just bought the Ipad 2 when it came out, then was amazed it has no directory or file system. It'...

I reported 50-75 but do not have an accurate count. For most web sites that do NOT involve a financial transaction, I use the same ID and password. For all web sites that involve financial or personal information, I use specific IDs and passwords. I also run with cookies turned off unless absolutely...

My opinion of which is worse, UPS or FedEx, changes repeatedly. Right now I consider FedEx the worst; I've absolutely had FedEx report "owner not home" when even though I've had a note on the door and was waiting for a delivery. Another time, when signature was required and he didn't wait,...

Another option: Get a Mac and use NeoOffice, a full-featured set of office applications for Mac OS X. I switched to Mac when I heard the advance warnings about Vista and have not bought any MS products since then. I did keep an old Windows laptop running XP Home and Office 2000 for a while but that'...

At about 58 woke one day to "floaters" in the eyes. It's amazing that you went so long without them; I thought everybody had them. The same thing happened to me almost 40 years ago, when I was in my teens. I still remember the day they first appeared. It was pretty frightening because I d...

My experience in the Northeast. A home near my current condo residence came on the market as a short sale. I had some prior knowledge of this home and was quite interested. It sold in June 2006 for $706,000. The short sale asking price was $389,000. It is in a nice location with a decent view; to di...

Even if tax rates remain the same, anyone with a serious IRA can be pushed into a higher tax bracket when RMDs begin. While waiting for full SS age, I did a small IRA to ROTH conversion each year, paying the taxes out of other after-tax funds; once I began SS I stopped the conversions. Now I have a ...

What makes you think these "squatters" as you call them represent any significant portion of the market? A few anecdotes? Foreclosure rates and short sales are at the highest rate since the 1930s. The Case-Shiller index shows housing prices declining steeply. There are well-documented mas...

I don't understand blaming the bank. A wanted to buy a house. B had a house to sell. The house was "worth" $250k, but B wanted $500k. All of A's friends and neighbors told him that the house was a steal at $500k. So did the WSJ, the NY Times, his realtor, and his local television station....

An interesting thread. A home of interest near me has just been listed as a short sale. Apparently the owner is about $250K under water. Had my broker check it out and learned the owner is not allowing anyone to see the house yet and won't reply to calls from his listing agent. My broker tells me if...

I think people should stop (implicitly) judging the lifestyle choices of others. My wife and I (and maybe our child, too, although we can't tell yet) are introverts, so we appreciate the separation we can get from two stories, a finished basement, and 2700+ square feet. Plus, it's nice to have a gu...

I also have a mostly inactive facebook (FB) account, which I opened at the behest of a friend who was in a difficult time in her life. Then a larger group of friends sent requests to link up. Then they started writing on my wall and I stopped looking, especially when the farmville crap began. Now, i...

If you want to visit the models, why not just go and not give them your name or personal information? Thanks, I did just that. Doubt it is legal anywhere. At the least, its a major ethics violation for a realtor. The builder is paying her (as a sub-agent) to represents his best interests and to tak...

I'm working with a broker to find a possible second home; we're looking mostly at existing but she has suggested looking at a new construction project. In the past I've had brokers suggest I NOT visit the models without them because the sales office broker will get the sale. If I go with my broker s...

Thanks to all for the informative replies and insights.
Ray

I'm considering a second home and, in preparation, have been watching mortgage rates and getting pre-approved at two banks. Another bank sent a form for me to sign, which authorizes them to contact the banks, employers, etc. that I define in my application. But it also extends, for the thirty-year l...

"Insurance premiums, including amounts paid under Social Security for Medicare, can be used as medical deductions." This is a surprise to me and I worked in NJ for many years. To my recollection, TaxCut never suggested adding the Medicare tax as a state deduction. Perhaps I missed it. Has ...

A good thread _ I just canceled my RCN service (TV and internet) when I left for FL for two months. RCN even provided a pre-paid shipping label for the cable box and modem. I took this step after they refused to give me a promotional package with more useful stuff at less cost. When I get back up no...

Macbook Pro 17", 2006 model, a workhorse. A smaller screen would be more portable although I routinely take mine on trips. I had worked with both Macs and PCs but heard the predictions of Vista problems and chose not to learn yet another Windows OS so I bought the Macbook Pro. Some have recomme...