All Forum Posts by: Carl Hebert

We refinanced last year (2020) and acquired a commercial term loan that grouped all our properties into one loan. 

Question is when we do our schedule e for taxes, can we list as one loan or do we have to break it down into each property?

Using Turbotax. 

Trying to claim the costs associated with getting the loan, ie closing costs etc.

@Steve K. I just told my agent that I would prefer to see the docs to save them time. I did not want to waste their time asking for info that could change my decision on a property when I could just open it myself and decide. Plus it saved me a ton of time. 

I used tenantcloud for a few years and switched to Rentec Direct and have to agree with @Andrew Flora I really enjoyed it. You can accept online apps, do background checks, accept credit cards (have to setup a merchant account, which was a little complicated), set late fees, etc. 

I also liked the way it allowed me to handle owners of properties I manage for. The costs scales as you add properties and was a cheaper solution to Buildium. 

Also the few times I had to ask for help the customer service was really great. 

I currently manage 40 units with them. 

@Account Closed, It is not just Southern Maine that has nothing for sale, central Maine is also mostly dry for deals. Appears to be the way it is for now. Good luck on your search!

@Allen Wu if it is the one at 903 24th I would do like @Chris Piazza suggests and get an inspection. I am always a bit leery of a listing that only has one photo. I actually bike in that area quit often and the only downside to that location is that duplex is located right on the edge of the rotary there. It can be quite busy at rush hour. It seems pretty decent from the road as I go by. 

The only other thing that pops up is that this (if it is the one at 903) has been on the market for 6 months, kind of unusual for a duplex in Cape Coral unless it has issues. Something to keep in mind. 

@Dan Weber - thanks for the shout out, but as @Jason Curry mentioned I am phasing out of managing other people's property this year. Want to focus on my own properties and grow the portfolio.

@Reed Baker I agree with @Robert Beardsley, I have not looked at Lisbon in awhile, but they always seem to have some nice deals for multis and sfh. If you feel that the market and town are going to get better then it would be a great choice to buy there.

@Corey Chambers, I do not think you need to concern yourself with forming an LLC right now. The biggest reason to have an LLC is to help protect against litigation and ensure you don't have personal assets taken in a lawsuit against you. The key here is that the building needs to be in the LLC's name and that can be tricky sometimes depending on the state your in.

If your only concern is to track income/expenses then just use Quickbooks or its equivalent and setup accounts for the property. 

Once you start building beyond this first property an LLC may be the right way to go, but in my opinion right now you are just wasting money and time setting one up.

The tax question I will leave to the accountants out there :)  

Thanks for posting the deal! 

@Arta Montero I agree with @Joshua D. set a goal and adjust it as time goes. I bought my first multi in 2012 but didn't really get started with investing till 2015. Since then I have expanded to 20 units in 7 properties. 6 in Maine with 1 in Florida. The 6 in Maine are all cash flowing properties and I use the money to either improve the properties or buy new ones. The Florida one is the reward for the last 5 years lol, we live in one side and the tenant in the other unit helps pay for our winter home's mortgage. My job is managing these properties and my wife still has her 9-5. Having a spouse on board is a bonus! 

I set a goal back in 2015 to hit 500k in gross income, have not hit that goal yet, but still shooting for it. Will she quit her 9-5 when we hit that goal? Maybe, maybe not it will depend on when we get there. 

2020 was the first year that I actually took a large payout from the business. I bought a 1965 Chrysler convertible to drive around in while in Florida. I paid off some bills related to the move to Florida from Maine. It felt good! 

Set a goal - work towards it - enjoy the smaller rewards along the way!

Carl