All Forum Posts by: Michael King

@Mary Jay I use excel, but I'm pretty handy with it. I have one tab for each property. All income and expenses for that property are laid out month to month on that tab. Expenses are listed in the order that my accountant gave me. There is a separate tab that plops all the data from each property into a simple to read end of year synopsis (of each property) that is just a list of all total expenses and income. Easy for the accountant when I use it as a cover sheet with all receipts and paperwork attached to each sheet. I also have a profit/loss tab and best of all, a deal analyser tab. 

Excel is great if you know how to use it. If you inadvertently delete formulas you need to know how to fix it. 

Save your money and your (and your tenants' headaches) and don't bother with a home warranty. Have repairmen lined up for if the need arises for one.

Did I miss something? $21K invested with a $9K return? Looking at those numbers I see a home run. 

Nothing comes easy and no doubt some lessons were learned, so there's value there. 

I say well done!

Hello Alex and welcome! That website does seem legit and forthright with their $2K fees; while I didn't spend a lot of time going through their info, I would be most interested in the neighborhoods their houses are in. And also, how they come to advertise particular properties on their website in Ozzie. I mean, why 'that' particular Houston property, for example? What is their affiliation that gets that particular property on their website? All very intriguing. 

Of course another thing you have to consider is the exchange rate. Right now Aussies will get crushed changing skippy coin to the green back. But I suppose it's a 2 way street; once your ROI starts coming in it will convert well for you.

How did that first one die in her room? 

One bank account for all rentals. A separate bank and account for personal finances. Works well for me. I used to have 1 account per property, was very annoying.

My father in law had a similar issue. Neighbor built a fence that encroached. He told his fence guys to knock it down when they built a new fence on the lot line. The neighbor was not happy, but my in law had asked nicely, received hostility, sent lawyers letter, more hostility, then acted. The neighbor didn't say anything more.

If you find a good inspector, keep him (or her). I've hired many inspectors over the years. It seems that when I buy a house, the inspector I use always misses important flaws. And when I sell, the inspector the buyer uses always finds those, and more. 

I finally stumbled on a good one, and I'll always use him now. 

Of course, you can learn a lot from inspectors if you stick with him during the inspection. One day you probably won't even need to use an inspector as you'll know what to look for. 

I came here to find how to be a lazy investor. Left and don't know what an asset is anymore. I'm turning the riots back on.

What if it doesn't work out and the PM is a shister? I've seen a couple of people here having trouble with their PM of choice, but when the PM doesn't pull their weight and the owner is locked into a contract....they're stuck. Why would you want to force an LL to have a 12 month agreement? I would want a PM that works hard enough so I don't have to waste my time managing my properties AND the PM at the same time. Then the business is earned. 

Kind of like a government handout - why would anyone work harder for something that's guaranteed? At least, this is my opinion after having had good and bad property managers. I find the bad ones always push the 12 month agreement, the good ones don't.