All in One List for Rental Property

[Adam Murray]

I wanted to start this off with asking everyone what list they use to plan for expenses on their rental investments. Basics like planning for taxes, insurance and destructive tenants are on every list but I am struggling to find a list that has all those granular details of things like CPA and accounting costs, Lawyer fees, Leasing commissions paid to property management if its not built into a flat fee and so on. Any and all items we can add to this list would be great. 

[Nathan Gesner]

May I ask what the purpose is? I mean, this sounds like an awful lot of work for a very small payoff. Maybe you should add a category to your expense list titled, "Time wasted building super-detailed lists that won't help me in any way." LOL!

Seriously, it's a joke. I put "LOL" at the end so you know I'm not trying to insult you.

Maybe you're a data nerd and just love to play with numbers. If that's the case, I would suggest you find a way to put your skills to work for you by analyzing new deals instead of micro-analyzing existing deals.

There's no need to get so granular. Most people buy an investment without really knowing the most basic numbers but they still manage to make a good return if they just stick it out. Investors that set aside 50% of their income towards projected expenditures like maintenance, capex, and property management are likely to fair far better. Adding nit-noid details beyond that is likely to have very little effect on your return, if any at all.