Nuts and Bolts of setting up a rental once you own it

[Chrissy Disch]

So I have learned quite a bit on analyzing rentals from a cash flow and risk standpoint, but when it comes to operations I am less sure how to operate.  How do you 'pay' yourself the income, how much and where do you keep the expenses you denote things like cap ex/repair/maint/vacancy/etc?  What do you do when that pot of stashed expenses gets rather large?

Does anyone have tips on how much to actually keep in reserves and what to do with the cash you denote as an expense once you go beyond your desired level of reserves?  Do you just let that pot keep growing on the chance you might need it? 

My specific question is around sub 50k rental homes.

[Heath Ryans]

@Chrissy Disch You can pay yourself each month by pulling what you have calculated to be your cash flow out of the account you have designated for the property. Some people keep separate accounts that they store the reserves in, some just leave it in the same account the rent gets deposited into. It really just comes down to preference. If you feel comfortable with the amount of reserves you have stored up, transfer some out and consider it a pay day. 

currently, i personally have only 1 account. Rents go in and bills go out. It keeps it simple. In the future I may designate an account for reserves, but for now this works. I actually don't even pull out the cash flow amount right now, I'm trying to grow a business not pocket a few hundred dollars every month.