[brian]

This afternoon the Owner's Club got an email from a guy who has a client wanting a Karma Signature Edition, and is apparently willing to pay $50G for the privilege. Unfortunately, mine is not a signature edition, but if any of you are on the list for one and want to make a quick $50,000 then here's the info I have from him:


Brian:

I see that you are a member of facebook-Fisker Owners Club, I have a client who is wishing to buy a Fisker Karma Signature Edition...NOW. The offer on the table is $50,000.00 - we have one member who is thinking or considering this price, please let me know if you have an interest, should you be a Owner of Fisker.

Thanks,

Robert B. Rosenberg
1525 Mesa Verde East Drive # 207
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Cell: 1-714-290-1234
[email protected]



-Brian

 

[kabalah70]

Maybe I will check this out.

 

[Fabulist]

Maybe I will check this out.

Not sure what this means, but the current listed tenant at that address appears to be an eldercare referral service. Here is the link to the tenant listing at the Mesa Verder Plaza.

-- Fab.

 

[brian]

Hmm... odd. Well, the followup email I got back from the guy said this:


I have worked with Fisker, Advanced Equities in bring investors to invest in Fisker as a Late Stage IPO Opportunity and that is how and why I am involved with Fisker Automotive, also it helps that I am in the same city, Newport Beach where Henrik lives.


-Brian

 

[kabalah70]

Yeah, I Googled "Robert Rosenberg Mesa Verde" and found out he is Executive Director of Eldercare, which is in Suite 207, which matches up with your list of tenants.

http://www.askeldercare.com/company.htm

I would not want to contact him directly without you asking first since the e-mail appears to be dircetly to you and not the forum, so he may have privacy issues if I contact him directly. The NOW in his statement leads me to believe that he wants to buy a position on one for $50,000, not wait until one would take delivery and then sell it to him for $50,000 profit. I cannot sell my position as Fisker as no obligation to commit to selling the vehicle to anyone but me, his client would have to wait until I buy the car and then have me sell it to him. I would have to check the legal and financial implications of this transaction too. I know for a fact that no one would be able to claim the $7500 federal tax credit by doing so. Anyone no if there are laws to prevent flipping cars? I know I will have to claim the profit on my income tax, but anything else I should be concerned with should I decide to do this?

 

[brian]

Don't worry about contacting him directly. I asked him if he wanted me to put the word out and he said yes, so he would be happy to hear from anyone.

Yeah, I'm not entirely clear on the $50k either. I mean if I was on deck for a Signature Edition and I could make $50k by giving up my spot I'd do it in a heartbeat, but it's not clear exactly what he has in mind.

-Brian

 

[kabalah70]

Cool, I am gonna send him an e-mail and ask what he has in mind.

 

[Fabulist]

Cool, I am gonna send him an e-mail and ask what he has in mind.

So what happened with this? Since you are still talking about getting your car, I am guessing the deal did not go down? Just curious.

-- Fab.

 

[kabalah70]

Still keeping my options open. Guy would like a $2000 referral fee, so I would still net $48k pre tax, which would be about $36k post tax or less. I have never owned a limited edition car before, so I am not sure if it is worthy of commanding more or if I am just being greedy or if I would simply rather have the car, seeing as I would probably invest the profit and lose it all in this crappy market and be out everything.

 

[brian]

Still keeping my options open. Guy would like a $2000 referral fee, so I would still net $48k pre tax, which would be about $36k post tax or less. I have never owned a limited edition car before, so I am not sure if it is worthy of commanding more or if I am just being greedy or if I would simply rather have the car, seeing as I would probably invest the profit and lose it all in this crappy market and be out everything.

Dude, seriously... if you can get $36k out of it you should. I mean you can just place another order for the car and still have it in December or so, but you'll have shaved 1/3 off the price. The Limited Edition thing is not going to be worth $36k for at least 30 years if ever. I'd do this in a heartbeat if I had the Signature Edition.

-Brian

 

[kabalah70]

There is the ability to say that I own the exact same car that Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore own. And it is not like I am hurting for money. If the EcoSport offered the Earth exterior, I might be more inclined to do it, since that is what I wanted from the beginning. As for how much it would be worth, the whole reason I put the deposit on this car 3.5 years ago was because I could not find a dealer that had an Audi R8 to sell at MSRP, and people would drive them for 5000 miles and sell them for 15-30k over MSRP used. So, that being said, I think that I could maybe at least break even when selling it, if I decide to, prior to my purchase of my Tesla Model S.

 

[Fabulist]

What happens to your $1k/$5K deposit with Fisker under this scenario? I assume Fisker is not going to refund your deposit and let you keep your place in line, so the new buyer would have to reimburse you for the deposit and then step in your shoes, so to speak. In any case, if your ultimate goal is to get a Tesla S, or even a Nina, then $36K is going to go a lot further than with the Karma. It may be worth taking the deal.

-- Fab.

 

[brian]

You know, since you put down your deposit over 12 months ago then you'd only have to pay 15% capital gains on selling your spot, so it would only be around $8000 in tax + $2000 referral fee, so you'd walk away with $40k. That's more profit than you'll ever see in your lifetime off of that car - I guarantee it.

-Brian

 

[kabalah70]

Brian: I wish it worked that way, but capital gains is paid on the profit made when selling something one owns. I do not own the Fisker Karma, therefore, I would own it for less than a day. Going on your belief regarding the deposit I would also be able to claim the $7500 tax credit for owning a hybrid for more than a year, which also is clearly not the case.

Fabulist: The way the deal would go down, would be that I purchase the car and then sell it to the gentleman. Selling my "position" would not be possible because Fisker is under no obligation to honor my delivery position to anyone but me. If I tried it that way, meaning having the guy pay me $55k for my deposit and profit, Fisker could and probably would deny him, and then he would come after me to get his $55k back, and I would be out the money and the car.[hr]
Brian: I wish it worked that way, but capital gains is paid on the profit made when selling something one owns. I do not own the Fisker Karma, therefore, I would own it for less than a day. Going on your belief regarding the deposit I would also be able to claim the $7500 tax credit for owning a hybrid for more than a year, which also is clearly not the case.

Fabulist: The way the deal would go down, would be that I purchase the car and then sell it to the gentleman. Selling my "position" would not be possible because Fisker is under no obligation to honor my delivery position to anyone but me. If I tried it that way, meaning having the guy pay me $55k for my deposit and profit, Fisker could and probably would deny him, and then he would come after me to get his $55k back, and I would be out the money and the car.

 

[brian]

I'm pretty sure your accountant could make it work You "bought" a slot in line. I don't think the capital gains thing is restricted to physical goods. Since you paid for something that you are now selling it is capital gains.

-Brian

 

[kabalah70]

Not interested in going to jail for tax fraud, regardless of how well an accountant could make it work. Regardless, that would only work if I was selling the position and not the actual car, which I stated I would not for the abvoementioned reasons reagrding Fisker's ability not to honor the position.