All Forum Posts by: Michael Ruane

I just closed on my 3rd 2 unit building and have leases secured. It needs minor cosmetic updating but in good shape otherwise.

The reason for my post is now that I get deeper into RE investment, I would like to sharpen my pencil on management. My partner and I both work professionally and invest in the side. We have recently moved to QuickBooks for accounting.

First, I’d like to know if anyone has video recommendations on how to beat maximize QuickBooks and tracking income/expenses?

Second, does anyone have recommendations on reading or just general ideas on how we should be allocating income? Specifically, what ratios are good to use for managing the properties...percentage of rent dedicated toward property maintenance, insurance, taxes? Essentially I’d like to understand the basics so we can continue to grow this.

Any help is appreciated.

Mike

@Brian Bradley thanks for the insight!

@Costin I. right now I’m only buying and holding. My thoughts were to reduce liability and exposure in the event of litigation, if I went with a series I could keep each unit separate. Great chart! 

@Julie Dike Actually meeting with both tomorrow so this is timely.

My final question is can I easily take my existing LLc and convert to a series or would it require a dissolution? Also I assume that I'm taking my 3 properties owned under the LLC and moving them to the series would require a repayment of transfer tax, right?

@Eamonn McElroy PA, sorry for not including. I'm a newbie on BP.

I was curious to hear of the benefits of using (s)LLC instead of an LLC. I am buying my 3rd two-unit and considering the strategy to mitigate exposure. Currently operating in a standard LLC with my partner but wondering if we consider a Series LLC would we need to pay transfer on each of the properties? Any advice would be helpful.

Hello Joshua....long time Scranton native and new investor. Let me know if you have a specific neighborhood you are looking into and I could shed some light.

Thanks Gina! I agree pro is not too expensive, I was looking at their property management version which was around $500. All the best!

@Daniel Hyman @Gita Faust Thank you both for the quick replies. I looked into Quickbooks a month ago and it seems expensive. Is the Property Management version recommended at my size (2 units) or could I just use Pro which is more affordable?

I’m not as concerned with management and just looking for a good accounting software to keep track of income/expenses.

Good morning! I am a newer investor from PA. Focused on multi units and currently own two through commercial financing (LLC) with 5/1 ARMs. I own two properties that cash flow well, needed some maintenance but I'm ready to buy a 3rd. I owe roughly $110k total and have roughly $190k in total appraised value. My question to the group is, what could I do for financing, should I remortgage for the next property? Also, does anyone recommend a good tool to track finances? Ive heard of some software but want to get some opinions.

Thanks and I really look forward to joining some discussions.