Software Engineer Focused on STR/LTR Record-Keeping & REPS - hello from a new member!

New Member Introductions
5dFollow

Software Engineer Focused on STR/LTR Record-Keeping & REPS - hello from a new member!

Hubert Grzesiak
Developer 路 Austin, TX 路 Member since 2026 路 11 posts 路 7 votes

Hi everyone 馃憢

Excited to finally join the BiggerPockets community!

My background is in software engineering, and over the past months I've been deeply focused on one specific operational headache for US short-term (STR) and long-term (LTR) rental owners:

  • keeping contemporaneous, factual work and time records throughout the year instead of trying to reconstruct spreadsheets from calendars and receipts in March.

Whether someone is working toward Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) or tracking the 7 IRS Material Participation tests under Publication 925 (including the 100-hour test, where your participation must be at least as extensive as that of any other individual), clean documentation can make a massive difference when working with a CPA

I鈥檓 looking forward to learning from the investors and Real Estate CPAs here, contributing to discussions around property operations and time-tracking workflows, and connecting with folks who take their record-keeping seriously.

Glad to be here!

3Reply
358 views

Most Popular Reply

Brad SeidBusiness Member
Lender 路 Licensed in 28 States 路 Member since 2026 路 187 posts 路 58 votes
4d

@Hubert Grzesiak Welcome to the community! 馃憢 Always great to connect with real estate investors. If you ever need help exploring financing options for your next investment property, feel free to reach out. Happy to help! 馃彙

[email protected]248-408-3855
West Capital Lending5128 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
1Reply
See this reply in the discussion

4 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Vaibhav PuranikPro Member
    Member since 2025 路 93 posts 路 52 votes
    4d

    Hi Hubert, hello from another (ex) software engineer. As far as I know, you need 750 hours of work a year and it's very difficult to prove that if you have a full time job. REPS also mandates that you don't have another full time job. Of course, don't trust me, verify from a CPA. Keeping track of things is actually the easy part. I have a separate email for my real estate work and hence separate calendar as well. I was able to ask ChatGPT (advanced model) to go through my email and calendar and create a spreadsheet. Wherever there were gaps, I filled it in based on my memory. I just repeat this process every month. You can create a skill out of it and then you don't even need to tell it much next time. Just say "product my last month's REPs log".

    [email protected]
    0Reply
  • Kasing Ng
    Accountant 路 San Francisco, CA 路 Member since 2026 路 114 posts 路 67 votes
    4d

    Hi Hubert welcome. Good first post. You picked a problem that actually bites people, which is more than most intros.

    The contemporaneous part is the whole ballgame. I see folks try to rebuild a year of hours the week before they file, and it never holds up. Building the habit of logging as you go is the real win, and most owners don't think about it until it's too late.

    One thing you'll probably run into with your users: the hours are only half the story. For STRs there's a stay-length test that decides whether the hours even count, and the property manager's time can quietly sink the whole thing. Good stuff to have on your radar as you build.

    I'm a CPA on the CRE side, so this is right in my lane. Would be glad to swap notes as you go. Welcome aboard.

    0Reply
  • Brad SeidBusiness Member
    Lender 路 Licensed in 28 States 路 Member since 2026 路 187 posts 路 58 votes
    4d

    @Hubert Grzesiak Welcome to the community! 馃憢 Always great to connect with real estate investors. If you ever need help exploring financing options for your next investment property, feel free to reach out. Happy to help! 馃彙

    [email protected]248-408-3855
    West Capital Lending5128 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Ashley RigsbeePro Member
    Customer Success & Onboarding Specialist at BiggerPockets 路 Charlotte, NC 路 Member since 2023 路 120 posts 路 46 votes
    1d

    Great to meet you Hubert! Are you seeing more trouble with the 100 hour test or with proving participation versus cleaners and managers? I'd be interested in hearing what pain points you keep running into.

    BiggerPockets
    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free