All Forum Posts by: Andy D.

I assume by "accounting" you mean running the numbers for each unit, i.e. cash flow etc. If so, then I'd say it depends on how detailed you want the information to be. Ultimately, though, it's the property that's performing - or not. Irrespective of the individual units. On the other hand, if you have a large building it might actually be interesting to see if there is a pattern with certain units "underperforming" (in whichever aspect).

I currently track my units individually, although in one excel file per building. So far.

If you like Excel and know how to handle formulas, references etc. and possibly don't mind a separate tracking tool for your bank accounts then I can only recommend Excel. You draft the layout, then later just use a separate (identical) file for each property. If you want, you can collate these files into another "overview" excel file, do Pivot tables etc. It really depends on how sophisticated you want your reporting to be and how versatile you are with Excel and its abilities to analyze and show data (visually). I'm doing this. I now have one version for SFH/Condo and one for multi-unit properties. The latter I can easily tweak to accommodate anything from 2 units to "pick a high number".

But I agree that once one reaches a certain amount of units (more specifically: buildings) one should probably use a professional tool. But I just hate everything Quicken... :-/ Although I am indeed currently contemplating to start using a professional tool. But they offer way too much stuff I don't need and are expensive. Then again, better move with, say, 8 buildings and get accustomed to it compared to trying to migrate with 20 buildings...

@Account Closed That's supposed to be a joke, right?

@Roy N. Exactly! And the relationship does not even have to be that big for a person to (hopefully!) think that way. In addition I would also think that this could be insured on the owner's side (problem: negligence). In any case, it's again "how to deal with a person with which I have a problem" (of which I'm the root cause, no less!).

Just curious: Why would you not have him move out at closing? You're losing either a month's rent or time to beef up the place, whatever your plan is.

In any case: always get everything involved with such a transaction in writing!

While I agree with the "cultivating relationships" thing (one could also call that "not being an a$$"), there are limits to what one should accept. Especially if it's, apparently, gross negligence on the owner's part, especially when assuming that this property is located in Ohio and it was not exactly summer season during which this happened (again, we have to assume a lot; I don't like that).

I'm a "depends on the situation guy" (hhm, maybe part of the "relationship" point?). If this would have happened at a house in SoCal where all of a sudden a completely to-be-unexpected Blizzard hit, causing this result, then I would probably try to get some sort of a deal worked out.

If the overall business relation is worth a million+ then I might also look at this differently, even in Ohio.

All these fine points are not mentioned in the post (and also cannot possibly be mentioned as it would be way too complex) and therefore one cannot give a proper answer, as far as I'm concerned.

The point I try to keep making is: it all depends on the individual situation. As far as I'm concerned there is no "one fits all" solution for everything. And to be able to deal with this individuality one needs to be able to foster relationships and work with people. A person who does not want to or cannot deal with such an individual approach will bulldoze over everything always in the same way. Might clear a lot of paths for that person but will also leave many things in ruins. To me this doesn't matter as I would not be doing business with such a - to me - reckless and unworkable person. Not how I do business. Others will have no problem with that. Everybody their own: don't try to push things on people. A bulldoze-personality will not care about what has been described and will not change either. Because they don't care. Let 'em be...

Looking at Nicholas' post I do think there is a big difference between investing a (cash) amount into real estate (aka building up or increasing the portfolio actively) vs getting everything handed to you passively. The cost to purchase alone, not to mention the time and hassle involved to go through a purchase phase (here: several of them!) makes a big difference to me. So I'm clearly in the boat of "keep them" (selectively, not necessarily all), especially as you already spent time, effort and money on beefing them up.

More so, your cash-flow sounds amazing, and I'm jealous when looking at mine in comparison to portfolio value. So as long as you don't mind dealing with a PM and some other things such as which roofer to pick etc then I would not sell everything. Also, when you plan on retiring you want to have something to do every so often - and this sounds like perfect to me. No need to expand, no need to consistently be involved, every day, dealing with issues. No, maybe once or twice a week a call from your PM about whatever and then every so often a turnover, some cosmetic work with decisions involved and the like. You can handle that stuff even while being on a road trip in your shiny new RV that you are going to buy for retirement - or not. :-)

Also, to me it sounds like you already have made your decision anyway. ;-)

I basically agree with @Rick Wang here.

We have to assume a lot a this point, and that is never good. So here is a not good post LOL

From what I'm reading the tenant is in the Navi ("he's at see for the next 6 months") so active military (and everything going with it) can be assumed. It can, therefore, be assumed that it's not his duty weapon that was discharged as he was not there when it happened, assuming he's a good soldier following the rules of always leaving his duty weapon on base. If this is indeed the situation then this has nothing to do with his job and therefore I see no point in calling his CO or any other base personnel on this matter: none of their business and not helping the situation either. But that's j5mc on that particular part under those assumptions.

If the weapon wasn't even his then I do not see how this should be real grounds for eviction: Some person brought a weapon to his place and was dumb enough to handle it improperly (assuming that person didn't fire it on purpose which would never be proven anyway, though). While I would have a serious chat with my tenant making it absolutely clear that this is a big no-go (which I'm sure he knows already being a soldier) I would - taking everything else about his character etc into consideration - probably not evict him. Obviously, this can never happen again, and you may want to get this case documented in writing with him acknowledging the situation, your "reprimand", warning, and any further instructions, again in writing.

Should the police report, however, show facts that somehow "actively" involve him in this mishap (his gun, left out in the open etc) then I would probably decide differently, especially since, as a soldier, he has proper training on these things. It would therefore show clear neglect on his part and would mean there is likelihood for another incident of such sort.

You have a (professional) lender and no title company is involved?? Never heard of that happening. You do know that the title is the only thing that proves your ownership of the property, right? It also is the only way to find about any existing liens and whatnot. An in-depth look into the title situation is a MUST. And for that you should definitely use professional help by either making use of a  title company which will do a title search or with the help of an attorney on your side. Jm5c.

Your parents have no US tax issue from what you describe, as they are neither US citizens, nor US resident nor was the property located in the US. Any other tax issues in their country of resident obviously need to be dealt with locally and do not concern you as it was them who sold it. You should also have no tax implications, especially if this is only a loan. But that you should, as already said, verify with a US tax advisor.

With respect to the transfer: just give the sending bank all the relevant information for your US account (account number, bank name, routing number, account designation and whatever else they might need; ask them) and they will transfer the money - for a fee. Typically you will be charged on both sides, although the transfer fees are, from my experience, not relative to the amount you transfer. So the higher the amount you transfer the cheaper it gets - relatively. The fee remains the same. But that obviously depends on the banks involved. So check that, on both ends.

As regards the forex fees: the sending bank will typically charge an arm and a leg on that end. So do negotiate that. This is assuming that the money is not already in $US but in EUR. If it's already in USD then there will be no issue in that regard.