All Forum Posts by: Prag Patel

Hi Eva,

I ended up going with Dr. QuickBooks. Keith really helped me get setup and from there I was able to at least enter my transactions. He should be the first hit you get on Google when you search for "Dr. QuickBooks".

I also ended up hiring an accounting firm in Colorado to help with my taxes. Good luck!

I have actually asked this question a year back, as I was looking for an accountant in Charleston area to help with my properties there. I found it to be incrementally easier to find accountants/CPAs if you widen your search criteria to within the U.S instead of just in Charleston. Taxes and accounting can be done remotely thanks to advancement of software. Tax law and accounting is really ubiquitous, so you can find pretty much any qualified CPA to help you. When I was looking for an accountant, it seemed everyone was too busy to help, even during off-peak times like October and November.

That's my 2 cents.

Well I think my PM is actually trying to do me a favor. This is actually the 2nd company I've hired to manage the company in as many years (owned since late 2014). And it's your typical agreement, 8% fee on monthly dues, 1/2 of first month's rent. Due to a lack of payment from the previous PM (tenants paid, PM didn't), I am not doing well on this property and they know it. My fear isn't necessarily the extra $25 I'm giving up, but what you just pointed out. This extra payment isn't going to make a difference for my YoY returns.

 I see what you're saying, compromise is needed when you have a binary decision of a deal or no deal. However, I am also of the mentality of doing what I say and saying what I do. Essentially I would not bring a rent increase to the tenant unless I'm fully prepared to let them walk away. Is simply putting a 'feeler' out to see whether a renter is willing to pay more for the same product a good business strategy?

One of my PMs told me they were going to raise the rent from 900 to 925 for a tenant who has a lease expiring soon. After speaking with the tenant, they told me that they will not renew the lease if rent was increased by $25, and then asked whether it's ok to recant the increase. 

My question: Is this a wise choice to back out of a rent increase? Tenants are paying on time, and not abnormally hard to deal with than other renters. My fear is that this sets a precedence, that management is "weak". What are your thoughts?

Bumping this thread as I think it needs updating. 

In case anyone has been following this post, I really have nothing to say. They sent me the wrong lock type that wouldn't fit my door, and still haven't sent me a retrofit for it. Meanwhile, I've been using Schlage locks with Z-wave, with decent reliability. With the number of products coming out for electronic locks, I really don't see the need to bother with services such as these.

Not sure what you mean by expected expenses, but I'm guessing 1594 is for property tax and mortgage.

Here are some points:

Did you factor in any applicable hotel tax San Antonio charges?

Did you factor in any expenses for bills? electric? internet? water? Airbnb folks will be expecting these things. Also you'll need property insurance which will be more than straight up rentals, guaranteed. 

Did you factor in cleaning for each guests? If not, that will need to be factored.

Bottom line, I highly doubt you'll walk away with 1531 a month, unless you got a very premium location, and you can charge high season rates all year long. You need to factor in seasonality too.

So I'm assuming you're looking to finance just the cost of repairing the duplex, not at acquisition. $15K seems small enough to where you could purchase it with a 0% intro credit card. And if you don't qualify, there is always P2P lenders, and/or personal loans with a bank.

Hey Steve, thanks for the response. I'm actually trying to learn Quickbooks while I get professional help setting up everything, so I figured someone nearby could more easily help me.