All Forum Posts by: John K.

MLS access could be worth it alone - just to see all the info on all the properties in your area.

checkout loopnet - tons of apartments across the country!

Some local banks and credit unions offer great refinance deals for student debt, while not great its a great opportunity go meet local lenders and at least start building a relationship.

congratulations!  That rocks!

Open all windows, and get some fans, just get air from the outside moving in and then have fans on the other side of the unit blowing out.  After you get as much air moving as possible (for a few days) give it a good solid cleaning, even renting professional equipment if available.

If there are still issues then it's time to replace the carpet, paint the walls, etc. 

The same technique works for smoking too.

1) use classes for properties.

2) I use spreadsheets for the rent ledgers - and just record the general deposits and don't worry in QB who the rent was from.  Spreadsheets are also nice to print out and you can format them in a way that makes sense for the tenants as well in case you ever have to print out a rent ledger.

I'd suggesting finding a local accountant, have them show you things once (like how to do a general journal entry for a new property).  Then all you have to do is replicate the transactions with different numbers each time.

Use quickbooks, wake up an extra hour early any morning after you have a day of activity and do the accounting!  Having solid accounting is key to rentals, so you know exactly where you stand with money and cash flow on each property.  Being obsessed with your numbers is not a bad thing!

I think quickbooks is the best.  Here's my reasoning:

1) Every accountant under the sun is familiar with it when tax season rolls around

2) Classes for properties work really well

3) Quickbooks is easy to use in general after you get the hang of it, especially if you operate on a cash basis.

4) use spreadsheets then to do your tenant rent ledgers.

5) newer versions of quickbooks allow you to upload documents to transactions, spend the extra 5 minutes and upload receipts once/week.  Makes it really easy to track and store records!

I spend about $125 per duplex per year on taxes.  I use quickbooks and do all the journal entries myself to save money.  It's also good to keep a eye on the numbers in real time throughout the year.  Only tricky things can be depreciation if you are not familiar with rental property accounting.