we have just bought a house through auction and plan on putting a new roof on it and selling it. does anyone know if there is a time line on keeping the house before we sell or could we sell it without even putting a roof on it? we bought it from a real estate company on an online auction if that makes a difference. also it is in a different state so we would like to sell it asap.
Having said that, there is no guarantee you will be able to, and recoup your costs. You will also then have to pay tax on your gain at the regular income tax rate instead of the lower 15% capital gains tax rate (min. 1 year).
I would suggest running some numbers and price the home at a home run price. Put it on the market and see what the response is. Then either take it off the market and fix it up to sell later, or drop the price and dump it.
THESE ARE THE DECISIONS YOU HAVE TO MAKE BEFORE YOU BUY. ITS LACK OF CAREFUL PLANNING THAT CAUSE MOST PEOPLE TO FAIL IN RE INVESTING (or any other kind of investing for that matter).
Some states may have anti-flipping laws that could scrutinize your transactions if you do too many deals where you buy at one price and then sell pretty soon afterwards at a much higher price.