All Forum Posts by: Alex Smith

@James Galla thanks so much for your input! The concerns you brought up were my concerns as well. I understand that the dollar amount spent on improvements doesn't necessarily reflect value--especially because a lot of stuff was damaged by the fire and had to be completely replaced making it more expensive to fix, etc. Most of the renovations were completed with insurance money, luckily so I'm okay with it not reflecting the money invested entirely, but it would be cool if it did! 

I typed up the renovations on letterhead. I think I'll bring that and some pictures and stuff but leave it in my car. This way when I ask him if he wants any information it doesn't seem too pushy and if he decides he does want it, it's right there for me to grab.

Hey BP nation!

Back in 2016 we bought a top and bottom duplex. Since we have experienced a fire and literally renovated the entireeeee place...from electrical to plumbing to a new roof...new floors, bathrooms, etc. We bought the place for 79,900 and since have put about 45-50k into it. Tomorrow we have an appraiser coming and I really hope that his appraisal will reflect those #'s. 

I have prepared for him pictures of what the property previously looked like as well as some pictures of the renovation process. I have also put together a list of exactly when things were updated and what exactly was updated. I also have set out the original home inspection report from when we purchased the property. Am I allowed to give these things to the appraiser? Is he going to think I'm crazy or is this going to put him off?? I don't want to do the wrong things here but I also want to fight for my property because I know the quality of work that was put into it and that it's definitely no wheres close to what the property was 2-3 years ago when we bought it. 

Any input from people with appraisal experience would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys :)

Cozy!!!! I don't have a ton of properties, but I use it for the 6 units I do have and it has definitely made life a lot easier :) There is a lot of free features, that's the best part.

 Hi Joe! thanks for taking the time to respond. I think I like the idea of one operating account as well. I'm gonna make the move before we settle on these next two units. I like your spreadsheet idea to break down expenses per property as well. Definitely going to do that as well.

 Thanks for the input, Bob! This is exactly what I was looking into doing. Just seems so clean and organized. But, I think since its still early for me as I only have 4 properties on the books right now, I might as well make the move to having everything operate out of the same account. I think it'll really help me see the health of the company and then on a separate spreadsheet I can break everything down like Chris was saying.

Hi Chris!

This makes perfect sense. I think we are going to go the same route and move all operating expenses for all properties to one checking account. I know in the state of NJ they're a little funny with security deposits. When a tenant moves out in NJ you have to give them interest accrued, so I'm assuming that would be much easier to track in a separate account for each deposit, but I'll have to look into it some more.

Hi guys!!!

We are about 2.5 years in on our buy and hold RE journey and currently under contract on units 5 & 6!!! When we bought our first 2 units (a duplex) I opened a checking account and 2 savings accounts for the property. The checking account for rent and expenses and then a savings account for each security deposit. We then bought another property with 2 single family homes on one property (units 3 & 4), so I repeated the same thing by opening a checking account and 2 savings accounts.

After experiencing a fire @ our duplex earlier this year, we have now made the place brand new, which means more rent and more equity. We are now using the equity to purchase another duplex (units 5 & 6) because it all still makes sense with our criteria and the numbers. Instead of doing a cash out refinance on the first duplex to fund the down payment on the second duplex, our lender is doing 1 mortgage to include both properties. So now it's got me thinking about banking and book keeping and staying organized. If my lender didn't bring up this idea of having 2 properties on one mortgage, I would have continued to do the same thing I had been doing, by opening up savings accounts for these units' security deposits and another operating account for the property. This now seems a little silly now that we are starting to acquire more properties and I'm looking to simplify.

How do you guys do it? If you have several units do you use one account for operating expenses for all of your units? Curious to hear and learn from those who have done what we are looking to do and by that I mean, continue to grow a buy & hold real estate portfolio that is definitely going to require some systems to be put into place. 

Thanks for your help in advance!

Alex

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice! We ended up opting out of the whole public adjuster thing and let things take their course. It all worked out great! House is gutted and we decided to change the layout to increase the amount we can rent it for :) It's all framed back up now and ready for some new sheet rock! So exciting! Looking for the next deal!