All Forum Posts by: Erica Calella

It depends on what your needs for this tracker are. There are many differences when comparing tax depreciation to book depreciation. If you are tracking depreciation for purposes of repairs and maintenance (like anticipated timing of a new roof for example), you could probably get away with using excel and then just manually booking a journal entry. I don't think it really matters what you record in QB if you need this for taxable income purposes, your accountant is going to make whatever adjustments they need to make anyway.

The only depreciation tracker I use is the fixed asset schedule my accountant provides with my tax return. Then I usually update the financials I keep on hand to align with it accordingly.

I'm a CPA but I don't even file my own taxes so please take my response with a grain of salt. 

I have an MBA and I work in Corporate Real Estate. It's helped me tremendously... just the case studies you cover alone are helpful in the corporate work environment. The only people who have ever told me that an MBA was a waste of time and money are the ones who never pursued one (I'm not exaggerating when I say that).

However I didn't pursue my MBA because I wanted to climb the corporate ladder. I was feeling stuck at the time and needed inspiration to help me "find my calling." My grad school experience did just that for me. My experience has also beneffited me as I embark on my personal real estate investment journey as well. My soft skills and ability to communicate and strategize on the fly have increased in ways I didn't think possible for me.

So yeah, 100% worth it if you can make it happen, but like anything else in life, you will only get out of it what you put it. Good luck!!

I'm an out-of-state investor for one of my properties, but luckily the realtor I worked with was amazing. Right from the start I could tell she was passionate about her job and was invested in her clients so that was a green flag for me. She connected me with so many people (home inspector, insurance agent, lender etc), but allowed me to handle communication with them directly so that I was aways in the loop with what was going on. I flew down to view and experience the market once or twice, but on the second trip I found the property I wanted, so I handled everything remotely until the closing date. For me the travel was necessary because I personally wanted to stay in control of the transaction. My plan is to only purchase 1-2 properties per year, though, which is probably the main reason why this approach works for me.

If you don't trust your realtor, I'd say maybe you should maybe find one that is a better fit? I know that's likely easier said than done, but it may be worth it so that you don't regret any decisions in the long run. 

 Thank you, Candace! I'd love to connect!

 Thank you, Ricky! This is exactly the type of insight I was looking for and this will help me get started with my research. Much appreciated!! (no pun intended)

Thank you! It's a great property with lots of room for value add / STR cash flow.

Looking to gain some insight on the Alabama coast STR market.

During the 1970s, my grandfather bought two land plots on the Jersey Shore and built a house on each for $5-$10K. Today these houses are valued at $700K- $1MM (original home structures).

I'm looking to do something similar, but the East Coast has obviously appreciated significantly since. Does anyone have any experience in the Gulf Coast? I recently discovered Dauphin Island online and was wondering if this would be somewhere that would experience significant property appreciation.