All Forum Posts by: Akhtar Nasser

They contacted the renters insurance. Tenant said they will cover. The insurance called me for preliminary information but did not call back.

Is it typical for a landlord to personally fix something they damaged with no compensation? 

In reference to notifying in writing, does it have to be done by certified mail?

The servpro bill is $1600. Wanted to make sure there was no mold.

If they didnt have renters insurance, I have read I can do the work and send them a bill (cheaper rate than a pro)

Tenants window unit leaked water into house from 2nd floor.

Servpro came and took out insulation, sheetrock, carpet padding etc.

I now am looking for a handyman to unroll carpet, do sheetrock repair etc but I am not getting quotes or I can't get someone to the property fast enough

I can tackle this job, but not sure if the renters insurance will recognize my self made invoice. I do not have a LLC or handyman license. I can do the repair faster and cheaper as I live in the apt below.

Am I stuck waiting for a licensed worker?

How have you handled damage by an active tenant that was caused by them?

It's only in my name. I understand bookkeeping is important that is why I created a separate account. He actually told me that a separate account was not a good idea. I will pay everything from the tenant account but should the mortgage be something I pay into that account too? 

Can someone explain why it makes sense to pay into the mortgage from my account to the rental account when they are registered both in my name?

I bought a 2 family house and live in one of the rentals. Renters pay own utilities minus water and sewer. I created a security deposit and a personal account dentoted as a rental income checking account. 

My next move is to either use the debit acct for house repairs and expenses or even get a credit card for the property.

My tax advisor said that I need to show expenses coming from the rental income account. He said you want that number to decrease so he said to pay my mortgage, utilities, repairs from there. Since I will be short on funds there he said to put in money from my private personal account to help pay the difference.

If I am adding money from private personal account to the rental income account then it makes it just as confusing in my opinion, and if I have a vacancy I will then have to change back to paying from my private personal account. My thoughts were that I should  just keep a spreadsheet of my expenses, and leave the rental income alone. 

Ultimately here is the question. Is his advice just bookkeeping or will it mean I can't deduct my mortgage interest and expenses if I pay from personal when it comes to taxes with the system I am using. 

 From this point on I will start paying water, sewer, any repairs from the rental account because that makes sense. But again it seems just to be bookkeeping.