[ Boy, did this open my eyes and taught me that some of our prior home improvements were covered by a HELOC, and I should have taken advantage of that...and some of the items that I was thinking might be, are not qualified as deductible. ]
=> Understood.
Could have used HELOC to fund some of the major capital improvements to the farm[1], but decided to avoid such and instead use cash-flow and savings -- which took longer, but also side-stepped Uncle's scrutiny, review, and approval. Consider that a fair exchange. However, others will, for various reasons, choose to do differently.
Best wishes,
Kiisu
1. Paid off the farm mortgage in less than 4 years.
After which:
- added new roads (required road base and culverts)
- drilled a 350' well and built a well house
- improved the electrical system (buried some of the electrical mains, added new circuits and five new breaker boxes)
- re-roofed the farmhouse with sheet steel, added a 10x40 covered porch, and covered sidewalks
- added a new 24x36 steel building and expanded the original steel garage by more than 3x
- added a 14x40 steel shelter for a RV/trailer.
To date, total cost of major improvements[A] exceeds 130% of the farm's purchase price.
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A. Does not include the cost of farm equipment (multiple tractors and attachments), fences, gates, or temporary/small buildings. |
