All Forum Posts by: Jake Baker

@Ryan Hall

Meetups are a great place to meet people. I recommend Beers and Deals - a great place to network once a month. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521

The next one is tomorrow, the 13th! I'll be there if you want to send me a DM!

@Suzette Rodriguez

Most of my thoughts are speculation

1. Potential Reinstatement of 100% Bonus Depreciation: 2024 is 60%. 2025 is set for 40%.

2. Income Tax Bracket Adjustments. The highest bracket is 20%. I expect that to come down.

3. Increased Capital Availability. A lot of sitting capital will re-enter the market. 

A massive transfer of wealth in the next 4 years: 40M Boomers are retiring. I believe we are in for a very active real estate environment.

@Tarcizio Goncalves

Stessa is an excellent platform for tracking income and expenses for investors; it is user-friendly. However, its downfall (and really what makes it so easy) is that it is a single-entry system.

This means there are no checks and balances to ensure all transactions are entered correctly. A double-entry system (like QuickBooks) allows you to reconcile your bank statements, ensuring no missing or duplicate transactions. I would recommend Stessa so much more if you could reconcile; hopefully, they will! Or maybe they do now since the last time I used it.

Overall, I think it’s an excellent solution for smaller portfolios because you can easily spot any discrepancies. However, if you have a more extensive portfolio or plan to become larger in the next year or two, I would look for a double-entry system that allows bank reconciliations. Most bookkeepers won’t work in it if you plan to outsource it in the future.

I use QuickBooks Online (QBO) for my flipping business, rental businesses, and bookkeeping clients. QBO has every feature you need to run a business, excellent reporting features and integration with other software. It is the most popular software in the industry, and most Tax Preparers are familiar with it, which makes tax season easier.

My Recommendation: Spreadsheets are usually fine for your first 1-3 properties. 3+ properties, you should use a software. If you plan to scale at all, I recommend QBO. If you do not like bookkeeping/accounting/technology, hire a bookkeeper specializing in real estate investors.

@Brody Veilleux

Yes! That is a great idea. Depending on the level of rehab required, you will likely need a hard money loan if you are not paying with all cash. Conventional financing will not loan on unlivable houses. Hard Money will fund 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab on a draw schedule. So you must cover that 10%, holding costs, and have reserves for overruns. 

You can refinance into a primary residence loan. However, be careful about seasoning periods on the new loans. 

This strategy takes advantage of forced appreciation & favorable primary residence financing. 

Bonus - House Hack the property. This takes care of your debt paydown.

@Sarah BratcherGreat explanation. 

@Errol Graham

I use QuickBooks Online for most of my clients. Most real estate investors need a Plus subscription to separate by class(property). It is the most popular software in the industry, and all CPAs know how to navigate it, which is nice.2

I use it for my portfolios as well. It has every feature you need as you scale, the best reporting features, and it integrates well with other software. People don’t like it on the forums because it is not initially set up for real estate. It takes a certain level of QB knowledge to set it up right.

My recommendation is to use spreadsheets for your first few properties. Then, as you scale, work with a bookkeeper or tax firm to set up your QBO file correctly.

@Erin Babnik

I agree that excel will be the simplest option. Work with your tax professional to see what you basis is so you understand the tax liability if you sell. 

@Brandon Patrick

How is your bookkeeping? Tax preparers can be pretty speedy if they are dealing with a nice clean QuickBooks file.

@Eddie Pietschmann

Consider the agent finder as well: https://www.biggerpockets.com/agent/match

I found my all star agent through there who connected me with contractors, PMs, etc.

@Jason Sung

What do you plan to use the money for? Have you considered a cash-out refinance? 

@Emmanuel Ola

There are pros and cons to both. With multi family, you will likely cash flow better. With SFR, it will likely sell faster if you ends up being your exit strategy.