All Forum Posts by: Julie Marquez

@Jonathan R McLaughlin Good tip for looking for someone local. Especially in our town, we have plenty of people of professionals moving here getting out of that rat race. I don't want to just give it up to an online wild card that takes me more time to manage or fix. @Simon W. Yup, and I do know the value of having it done right!

@Jon Kelly Thanks for the recommendation of Simon!

@Paul Vail and this attorney could still recommend LLCs even with that taxi cab case law?

Yes, I'm not trying to make it so inconvenient, so we keep it to a building or dollar value or grouped location. For us right now, 25 units = 6 LLCs and still a handful in our personal name. I'm also not trying to transfer everything into an LLC and get my good bank loans called for "changing" the ownership to an LLC.

@Mark S. Thanks Mark, I'll have to look into REI Hub!

@Todd Rasmussen How long ago was that taxi cab case?

There is no parent company structure, just LLCs per building or area (not as singular as one per house) all under our personal tax entity. And I stress that when I buy one thing with the wrong credit card that it will pierce the solidarity of the LLC covenant, which apparently that case law doesn't like anyway. The LLCs did do a nice job for a different reason a few years ago, so I'm glad we had them during deaths and transfers.

Do you use credit cards for business purchases?

@Chris Davidson We do manage all our properties ourselves. I think our accountant does have bookkeeping services too, so I'll have to see what he can offer

@Karl McGarvey I'll have to look into Stessa, it seems like something other folks recommend too. Was wondering if anyone uses Xero?

@Nicholas L. I guess that is the root of the problem, I feel like I pay a lot for insurance. My premium doubled because I had a claim last year, and when I shopped around, I couldn't get anything else because of the claim. What's the point of paying for insurance and paying so much out of pocket for your deductible? In a couple of years I will have paid for the entire claim with the increase in premiums. I guess it is good for catastrophic events, which I hear doesn't go well anyway with insurance companies because they don't actually want to take responsibility.

I use the ACH on apartments.com but have the same complaint as you. I love when my tenants pay venmo or zelle because it is faster and easier for me to see on the app.

I know insurance is just a necessary, but I just have to wonder if there is something else, something better, a better way to do it. On some of my properties I don't have to have insurance, so what if I just saved my insurance premiums and was "self insured?" That way I was in control of my own claims and payouts and didn't have to worry about increased premiums and decreased coverage. Really, do the insurance companies really have my best interest in mind? They've got to make their profits too. Or is this just the reality of being in business and I should count my blessing of being so fortunate to have the opportunity to pay for insurance?

I know I'm not doing this right, and could use some help/guidance/suggestions.

Back in the day when I had just a couple of rentals, I could do all my personal finance and budgeting using mint.com and google sheets spreadsheets. Now, 25 properties and multiple bank accounts and separate LLCs, I am still doing it this way. I can compile all the information I need to get to my accountant at the end of the year, but something in my system is broken and taking way to much of my time each month to stay organized. I would like more automation and clarity of income reports.

1. Is there a good software accounting that would work for someone like me who wants to spend less than 5 hours a month on this task that doesn't cost a fortune. From what I've read on past forums, and from other people, I'm not personally interested in doing my own QBO because of the complexity.

2. Which leads me to my next question, is there a "WHO" who can help me with this? Am I looking for a bookkeeper, or am I too small for substantial help? I think I need someone to deep dive into all my accounts and systems and straighten everything up and give me guidance on how to organize my spending and tracking. Is there someone I can hire, or is that again, a bookkeeper who understand the right accounting outcome? Again, I'm looking for simplicity, organization, clarity of reports and I'm willing to do this myself with a better system or hire it out if that makes sense too.