Looking to buy first Airstream

[Swanny]

Although buying new would be great, after checking into the price of new Airstreams, that path shut down quickly.

What is of value is the thought of going to an Airstream dealer and walking through the various sized TT's. This will give you a feel for what would be good for your crew. Everyone else has touched on how many people, etc.

Also....what kind of camping are you going to do? Some mountainous areas pose a problem for the longer trailers. For us, we went with a 34 footer and than matched up the tow vehicle.

Don't make the mistake a guy in our WBCCI group made. He bought a new 25' AS and after one trip realized it was too small.

Mitch

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Swanny

Don't make the mistake a guy in our WBCCI group made. He bought a new 25' AS and after one trip realized it was too small.

Mitch

My local dealer says that the turn over rate for the small trailers is higher than the others. It's always the issue of wanting more space. Even if new is out of the question, many of the dealers who move a lot of Airstreams have used units in stock. This can give you a good idea of space in those units. Also consider visiting a Forum rally or WBCCI rally. Airstreamers usually love to show off their trailers.

Jack

[robandzoe]

Buy a old used 1950s or 60s the length you want, and for what you would pay for a new one, have one that is customized to your liking... like what Matthew McConaughey is doing with Vintage Lightning with Airstream Life and GSM Vehicles... just a thought. Have you listened to www.theVAP.com yet? Although it is the VINTAGE Airstream Podcast, many issues / discussions on the show pertain to the new buyer and new Airstreams as well. Just to get some ideas.

Rob

[adotutu]

I have only weekends available, so trips are very short.
I live in Hollywood, Florida and take trips to Orlando/Tampa/Sanibel/key west etc. The longest trip that we took was for 5 days...
I will be traveling this weekend to Key West. If you know somebody with a 25-28 resent model looking to sell, please tell him to call me at (305) 301-7862.
thank you all and have a great weekend.....

Question:

If you sell your second home for a loss, can you deduct the loss? (depreciation).
I know that if you sell your second home with a gain, you do have to pay capital gains tax, so why not deduct from your taxes if the price falls?
So if I want to deduct the maximum amount should'nt I buy a new one?

[Stream 1529]

Originally Posted by adotutu

Question:

If you sell your second home for a loss, can you deduct the loss? (depreciation).
I know that if you sell your second home with a gain, you do have to pay capital gains tax, so why not deduct from your taxes if the price falls?
So if I want to deduct the maximum amount should'nt I buy a new one?

If you can take a loss on a second home, it would be a capital loss. There's a 3,000 limit that you may claim each year for net capital losses, and may carryover any remainder to sbsequent years.

I say if because you may not claim a loss on a personal residence. I fear that the same may apply to a second home.

tom

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by adotutu

Question:

If you sell your second home for a loss, can you deduct the loss? (depreciation).
I know that if you sell your second home with a gain, you do have to pay capital gains tax, so why not deduct from your taxes if the price falls?
So if I want to deduct the maximum amount shouldn't I buy a new one?

Here's what I been able to determine at this point. The tax result for a second home (assuming that you are not renting the home in excess of 14 days a year) is that you can deduct only your mortgage interest, property taxes, and any uninsured casualty loss cost.

Since the home is not a money making enterprise, depreciation does not come into play. You can do a search on google regarding second home tax implications and get lots of information. You are correct in the capital gains issue if the home appreciates.

I guess the question on my mind comes into the issues of declaring the trailer as a second home. I'm assuming that if you do not have or deduct mortgage interest, then the selling price is immaterial for tax purposes? If so then I guess once you cross the threshold of deducting interest paid on the loan, capital gains rules fall into play for tax purposes. In the case of a new trailer there would be no tax ramifications since I again assume that normal depreciation is not deductible since there is no income being derived from the trailer. But I could see a turnabout in the case of you buying a vintage unit with a loan, deducting interest and then selling for a profit.

Obviously since you are treating this as a second home, you can deduct money spent on improvements to come up with a net selling price. From what I read the home owners capital gains exemption could be used to shelter that profit. I think that may be a one time exemption though.

Whew! That's a lot to think about and obviously I would consult a tax adviser on all of this.

Jack