All Forum Posts by: Alison Michel

Hi again (lots of questions this morning!)

I'd love to hear some folks' set-ups for their accounting and finance management. How do you organize your documents? What software do you use? What do you hire someone else to do and what do you do yourself?

Thanks!

Alison

Hello BP!

I'm trying to figure out how to find information for the fields of expenses in an investment calculator. Is it a matter of contacting the appropriate experts and getting a quote for each specific property I'm considering? Or are there rules of thumb? Can I ask for this information from the seller?

Here are the fields I'd like to fill in for my analysis; the only ones I can look up myself are Taxes and Ground Rent (for Baltimore City).

Thanks as always for your advice!

Alison

Hi BP,

Does the 50% rule include costs for property management or do I take that out of my profit after debt service?

Thanks!

Alison

Thanks @Heidi Rockwell -- that makes it easier. And yes, @Steve Babiak indeed there is: http://livebaltimore.com/financial-incentives/details/homestead-property-tax-credit/#.UzuFzK1dUTs

Hi BP,
I'm trying to calculate Baltimore City property taxes. According to http://livebaltimore.com/city-living-essentials/property-taxes/,

Current (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014) tax rates:

• Baltimore City: $2.248 for every $100 of assessed property value
• Maryland State: $0.112 for every $100 of assessed property value

So, I'm terrible at math but it seems like I should be able to take an assessed property value, divide by 100, then multiply that times 2.36.

But then when I calculate the taxes based on tax assessment, for example, in this listing: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/322-E-33rd-St-Baltimore-MD-21218/36477903_zpid/, and trying a few years' worth of assessments and taxes, I get a number that is about $50-55 off.

What's up??

Thanks!

Alison

Or now do you say, go for bitcoin?

That's what I was thinking, @Wayne Brooks . Yeah, it's time to get an agent to help me with this one.

Thanks @Jay Hinrichs !

Thanks @Ophelia Nicholson

Thanks for your response @Lee Smith It is not pending, but has been on the market for 150+ days, and the listing also says "Property Disclaimer, Property Disclosure," and As-is claus required. Seems like something is up with it, right? But is that something a deal breaker or a negotiating point? Should I get an agent before our call the listing agent?