All Forum Posts by: Damian LoBasso

Good Morning everyone, I wanted to ask if anyone can recommend a solid hard money lender in New Jersey (North Jersey to be specific) that they've worked with and have good experience with. If anyone has a suggestion for a hard money lender that isn't location specific, I'm all ears to that as well. Thank you as always!

I agree 100% with Dalwin Garcia . Don't be afraid to walk as remediation will cost in the tens of thousands since in your case you'll be dealing with foundation limitations as well, not to mention the repair cost. If the tank was outside and cleared all tests, all you need to do is throw dirt on it.

Hello Bigger Pockets!

My partner and I are beginning to brainstorm about the best way to structure a new entity for the purpose of accepting outside investors to fund our flips.  The goal would be to raise capital from friends & family to put towards flipping houses.  Ultimately we plan on shifting to buy & hold, but our 1-3 year plan is to focus on flipping.  

My background is investment banking & private equity while my partner is a corporate attorney (while our backgrounds are very relevant, unfortunately neither of us are well versed in the intricacies of real estate structuring).  As far as real estate experience goes, I have house hacked and owned several buy & holds, while this is the first real estate venture for my partner.  

The reason for the ask is because we have been approached by several family members and friends who have caught wind of our plan to start flipping (all of whom have the means to contribute anywhere from $50 - $200k each), and they would like to participate as limited partners (private money I suppose).  Given our backgrounds, most are seeking to invest primarily on our track around in non-real estate investing, and less so on the metrics of any particular deal.

I'm curious if the community recommends returning all capital and interest at the conclusion of each flip to investors, and then re-raising funds with each new investment, or if there is a way to structure our entity to mirror a REIT, so that we guarantee a particular interest rate, but have the rights to the underlying funding for a set period of time (say 3 years with a 12% annual preferred interest rate).

Would love to hear any feedback or answer questions that might help in forming an opinion one way or another.  Thank you as always!!

Always.  Be.  Closing.

ABC!

@William F., I'm sorry if I created confusion with the comment.  I was merely stating that institutionalizing one's business is the right approach to take, at whatever stage.  Quickbooks Online is sufficient software for those in the early stages of their portfolio development.  Those with thousands of properties either maintain an internal finance team/controller/CFO, or utilize much more integrated accounting software, such as options provided by SAP or Acumatica.

Happy to chat about it more if you have any specific questions!

Hi @Gigi H.!

If your property isn't that complicated, you might not even have to spend the $30-50/month on software, and you can just use Excel.  

If you want a little more of a robust experience however (cloud computing, ability to scan receipts from the app), Quickbooks Online is the way to go.  It's relatively cheap and straightforward to use, and will certainly help institutionalize your property.  Even though you only have one property, you still want to treat it the same way the big players with thousands of units do.  That way, when you expand, all of the pieces are already in place. 

Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions!

Hi @Maureen M.

While I'm located quite a distance away from Allen, my firm is completely remote and cloud based and I work with clients all over the country with their bookkeeping.  Please do not hesitate to reach out if you ever have any specific questions, want to run some ideas by me, discuss best practices or learn more about your options.  Thanks!

Hi @Edward Mccracken

I would have to agree with some of the earlier posts regarding the importance of understanding the real estate market a little deeper than just inputting receipts. While VA's might make sense from a dollars and cents perspective, you might make up that cost savings with additional costs come tax season when your accountant has to piece together a poorly compiled set of records at a high hourly rate.

My firm also works with real estate professionals on their financial reporting, and if you ever had any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out, thank you!

Hi @Vincent Priore.

On top of being a real estate investor myself, I actually own my own management consulting and bookkeeping practice where I work with a ton of Bigger Pocket members.  Would love to speak with you a little bit more to hear about what exactly you are looking to accomplish and how I might be able to help.  (And I'm a Bergen County guy myself)

Thank you!

I would say Quickbooks Online is probably your best bet.  10 units isn't enough to pay more for more sophisticated software, but it certainly is enough for things to get confusing!

Happy to help if you have any questions!