1 Bank account or multiple for rental properties

[Remo F.]

Hi,

I'm curious to how some of the landlords on here handle their finances.

Do you have one bank account that receives rent or multiple accounts for each property?

How do you handle expenses? Do you use a separate account or separate credit card for each property or same  that covers all?

Do you have another account to separate and put aside money for IRS?

I would be interested to get an understanding as to how some landlords/Investors handle multiple rental properties and what method works for them.

[JD Martin]

Two bank accounts. One for holding deposits, and one for everything else. Deposits should be maintained in their own account. I allow tenants that want to deposit into the bank to deposit into that account, then I immediately transfer that money so the deposit account only holds deposits. I use the same expense account for all properties, and track expenses through bookkeeping (I use a simple Excel spreadsheet). 

One of the best tips I ever heard: spend as little time as possible on things that don't produce income. Bookkeeping is necessary, and worthwhile, but makes zero dollars, so keep it simple.