All Forum Posts by: Jake Baker

@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.

@Shonari Wynter

For refinancing, you should be fine with the contractor's receipts.

@Bob S.

You can never go wrong with all LVP. Carpet in the bedrooms is fine in most neighborhoods. Tenents tend to treat carpet well in the bedrooms because there is less foot traffic. In A class neighborhoods, stay away from carpet. 

@Deonte Hill

I think using one general contractor is best for most people, unless you are experienced in some aspects of contracting and have the time to manage people. 

I have found my contractors through referrals. An investor-friendly agent should be able to point you to some people. Check out local meetups as well.