All Forum Posts by: Phil Bottfeld

Kyle if you start now and buy one rental per year (assuming $300/monthly cashflow with no hiccups)... You will have several hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual net rental income by your 50s. It takes time but the hardest part is getting the snowball started. It is kind of like a diet but once you start losing the weight and start seeing results, you start to really buy in. Hope this helpful.

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Originally posted by @James Triano:

@Rosy Bruno

I'd agree with most on here. Keep it simple and use Excel when first starting out. There's no need to spend additional money on software. I was also in your exact position (buying a rental and worrying about tracking the finances with a finance degree :)). I think you're safe with a simple spreadsheet for now.

I do use Quickbooks, however, for a flipping business I own 50/50 with my partner. The reason for this is so we have everything clearly documented in the software and it's a standard way of being able to access it. Plus, Quickbooks will allow us to scale a bit better without bogging down our Dropbox with unnecessary financial information. The plan is to outsource this work eventually once we scale a bit more and we're just checking on the business from a pure financial reporting perspective and managing projects. However, I'm sure we could still get away with Excel if we wanted to.

I agree with James, but overtime it's good to have a system that made for book keeping. Excel is great especially at tracking deal by deal items, but with quickbooks you can reconcile your bank, you can keep track of all the non cash expense (like depreciation and amortization), this will come in great handy when you start to have multiple deals on going.

Overall I think it's something you can graduate too but I would recommend it or have an accountant do it for you. It just keeps things nice and tidy.

0 Votes

Good afternoon Jason, I think it really depends on what kind of investor you want to be, what kind of financing you can obtain. Purchasing condo's usually results in lower rental yields but with that also comes lower capex. I'm happy to share my condo experiences with you. PM me if interested.

Regards,

Phil

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Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Thanks to all that commented. I appreciate the helpful information.

Good morning Veronica,

I know a realtor who used to work for the City of Miami on violations his name is Darwin Lopez and he's on bigger pockets. He'd be a good place to go from a knowledge standpoint.

Kind Regards,

Phil

1 Vote

Good morning Adam,

My name is Phil Bottfeld, I invest in 55+ condos in the south florida area but not specifically in the beach condo market. My wife is an agent but she's not versed in that area, however she may be able to point you in the right direction in finding the right agent. Her name is Shaina, PM me for her personal information.

Kind Regards,

Phil

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Miami, Florida

Late response I know on my part, but thank you both for responding.

Best,

Phil

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My tenant is giving me very limited times to show my unit while he lives out the rest of his lease. He says that he has to be home while a showing takes place. Does he have legal ground to do this?

I'm not sure if this is something I can put into a future lease but it is certainly something I will do if I can.

He wants to show the property after 7pm twice a week during the week and once on the weekend from 12-3 pm. I feel like this is way to limiting and I have more rights than he is trying to state but I want to support myself with law when I go back to him. Any advise/help is welcomed.

Regards,

Phil

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Hi Jose,

I have been using the same inspector for all my properties both personal and investment. It's a family company run by a husband and wife. The owner/inspector is Joe Sune, contact me via pm if you would like his contact information.

- Phil

0 Votes

Miami, Florida

Originally posted by @Alan Grobmeier:

@David Zheng I buy 3/2 SFR homes, single story only, square footage is 1100-1600 square feet. ALL my 'later properties' are in good school districts (8-10). My 'older' ones were 6-8, when I didn't have a complete gameplan. When the carpet wears out I renovate the floor and put in 100% floor tile. At that point I can take any pet someone has with minimal risk. I also put shutters in all my windows vs mini blinds and ceiling fans in all rooms. After all, I am in AZ.

Since my properties are in good school districts my avg stay is 3-5+ years. One has been with me 9 years now. After all, the ONLY reason they leave me is to either buy a house on their own OR move out of state. I can't fault them for that.

I treat my renters like an extended family. The only thing that will really piss me off is paying late. And I have had only 1 late pay and 1 'negotiated' late pay since I've been doing RE. In return I send them gift cards at Xmas/holiday time.

It's not a 'sexy' model, but I developed it when working full time as an engineer. I had home warranties on all my places so I was never the first call for maintenance.

It worked (and works) for me.

Great success story Alan. I think more RE investors should read your post and duplicate but it's the right way to make this industry work.

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Hello BP,

I'm searching for a good recommendation on a general contractor that works in the Broward area. All feedback welcome.

Regards,

Phil

0 Votes

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

All Forum Posts by: Phil Bottfeld

Phil Bottfeld has started 7 posts and replied 85 times.

Post: Encouragement Needed - Looking to Get Into Rentals

Post: Bookkeeping for a newbie - what do I do??

Post: First Time investor in the Miami Area

Post: Miami florida five plex for sale need advice

Post: Looking for Agent Recommendations in Miami Area

Post: Showing my unit with a tenant in it

Post: Showing my unit with a tenant in it

Post: Suggested Home Inspection Companies

Post: Stop Asking for Help. Just Stop.

Post: General Contractor Referral