All Forum Posts by: Jake Baker

@Brandon Stiles

You cannot take out the HELOC under your LLC for your personal property. If you quitclaim the property to your LLC, I believe it will be more difficult to obtain a HELOC after that. Check with a lender on that one.

As a bookkeeper, I would show it as the following on your books: The HELOC is in your personal name. If you transferred HELOC money to your business account, it would be categorized as an owner contribution. Just as if you contributed cash to the business, it wouldn't matter to the LLC if you borrowed that cash was borrowed or not - the LLC is not paying the interest on it.

@Daniel Gugliotti

Be sure that you are both on the same page about the exit strategy. If one of you is trying to make quick cash, and the other is trying to bill long-term equity, the partnership will not work. Make sure you hash this out at the beginning. 

Tip: Good bookkeeping is necessary for partnerships. This will clearly show who is contributing what and where your money is being spent. Investors wont want to invest with you unless you have a clean P&L and balance sheet. 

@Pamela Maduro

I run my whole flipping company through Google products (sheets, drive, Gmail...) and QuickBooks Online. 

If you're just getting started keep things simple. Once you start to scale, switch to Quickbooks and consider hiring a bookkeeper if bookkeeping/accounting is your thing. Take bookkeeping seriously now. It can save you a lot of time come tax time and gives you a lot of visibility on your business.

 If you're managing your own rentals, Stessa is free with a bigger pockets pro subscription.

Pricelabs for dynamic pricing on airbnbs is a must. 

@Shawn Parsh This is a great question!

1. Personal Sacrifices: Determine the values that are most important to you and hobbies/passions that truly make you happy and keep those in your life. Delayed gratification requires some sacrifice. For me, this includes drinking and TV. Just that alone frees up HOURS each week for me to work on my business. 

2. Outsourcing: As you start to grow your business you will need to start outsourcing. Typically the first things to outsource are property managers and a bookkeeper. I live a few blocks from my rentals and I chose to hire a PM to take it off my plate and free up my time. Great bookkeeping has allowed me to have more visibility and my business finances which has allowed me to scale significantly

Happy investing!

@Michael Plaks That is a great post you made explaining the difference between the two. 

@Bobby Nilsen If you hire a bookkeeper that is separate from your CPA, I recommend that you find one that specializes in real estate. 

@Corbin Hicks

L for Learning! Thank you for sharing the struggles that you went through on this deal. 

Flipping is not glamorous and have had my fair share of losses. 

@Adhirai M.

Have you considered hiring a co-manager of the property? I have done with an STR. You manage the listing and tenent communication, but have a "boots on the ground" person to show up at the property if needed. You can pay them a smaller %.

Happy Investing!

@Christina Colon

You should consult with a Real Estate attorney to draft up an operating agreement for your LLC.

Keep all business transactions within your business bank accounts and credit cards. 

If accounting isn't your thing, consider hiring a bookkeeper for a couple hundred dollars per month to manage your QuickBooks for you. Good bookkeeping will ensure that your CPA can properly advise you through your business growth. 

Initial funding with personal funds is fine. This is just considered a partner contribution on the books. 

Congrats on all your success so far. Happy Investing!

@Sino U.

I recommend investing wherever you feel you have competitive advantage. 

i.e. I live in San Diego, but I invest in Jacksonille FL because my old job used to fly me out there for work, so I was able to learn the area very well. 

@David Zimcosky

I recommend to focus on working with Investor-friendly agents. They will know where a lot of off market deals are and should also have recommendations for contractors.