All Forum Posts by: David Moore

Meant to tag @Amer Mallah, apparently can't add a tag when editing a post. I am in Indiana. Any advice is appreciated!

Sorry to resurrect an old post, but I am dealing with this same situation right now and wondering if OP was able to get resolved and how?

Hi @Deren Huang, I noticed this too but was happy to discover the change. I felt that previously the tab did not provide an accurate picture of the acquisition stage. The idea of a BRRRR is the property is under rehab and therefore would not be rented during the renovations. It didn't make much sense to show Monthly Income or Cashflow on this screen. Also, adding the Holding Costs field is very helpful since it calculates the total money you will need based on the length of the rehab timeframe you entered.

@Keith S. Forgive my late reply! I wanted to post after I had gotten through tax season then lost track. I can honestly say that using YNAB was a big improvement in simplifying data entry over QB. It takes me much less time than QB used to. The phone app is a big plus in being able to enter expenses on the fly instead of the "pile and file" method I had going with QB. It does require a little creativity to initially setup since YNAB is really built for personal finances, but the principles of zero based accounting and giving every dollar a job (budgeting categories) make planning for expenses so much easier. No more looking at the bank balance to guess if I have enough money for an upgrade or large repair!

The interface is simple and clean. Reporting is pretty limited but adequate for basic needs. End of year tax report takes a little tweaking, but YNAB allows you to export to a CSV file for further editing before turning over to your tax accountant. Overall, I can see where YNAB would be a bit too simplistic for larger companies but it's working just dandy for my 6 units.

@Camille Joos-Visconti I love YNAB too! It's completely revamped our personal finances in a surprising kind of way. I've recommended it to half a dozen friends and most are having great success!

The FilePlace is an excellent resource on BP! However, I often wish it had a couple tweaks that I believe would make it a lot more useful to everyone:

1) Add an "upload date" column beside the download count and file size columns to allow sorting each of the categories, making it easier to find the newest additions.

2) Make the "Recently Uploaded" section clickable to take you to an ordered list of all files sorted by upload date. This would allow people to review anything they may have missed in the last few months or longer, no matter the specific category.

3) Add a "Top Downloads" section that shows all files across all categories sorted by their download count. Even just a "Top 50 files" would be great.

I made these suggestion 2.5 years ago (privately via email) but it doesn't appear these additions made it into any of the site redesigns. Would others be interested in seeing these changes happen?

Thanks for the responses guys. Sounds like there isn't anyone actually using YNAB to run their rental property income and expenses through. I've gone ahead and taken a stab at setting up a company file. While I've had to figure out how to make a few things work, I think it just might do the trick. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a full accounting package, but after using Quickbooks for 3 years in Real Estate (and the 6 years prior in another business), I am realizing I don't need a lot of the features it offers. My motivating factor at this point comes down to 1 word: budgeting. Having this powerful, pro-active tool really overcomes a lot of other shortcomings and shows me where the money in my business is actually allocated. I'm going to try using it for this year and see how things go.

Is anyone using the software YNAB (You Need a Budget) to operate their rental business? We currently use Quickbooks, but it lacks the budgeting portion that I am finding more and more critical to mapping out our cashflow and expenditures. I already use YNAB for my personal finances and love it. However, I really don't want to do double entry to both QB and YNAB in order to add these features, so I am thinking of making a clean break. Would love to hear from others that may be doing the same. How do you structure YNAB for your business?

Hi BP, we charge a $50 non-refundable pet deposit and a $25/mo fee per pet. In my mind, this is a nominal amount to help in the event that we have to cover extensive damage that the normal deposit would not cover.

I just had a tenant move out and found the place has fleas and some other minor damages. I realize I should probably apply the initial $50 deposit by nature of it being a "pet deposit", but would you deduct the rest of the extermination fee from the normal security deposit or count the $25/mo funds toward this and give them a full security deposit refund? I think of the $25 as an "option" fee to allow the pet to live there, much like someone would charge to add an extra appliance, etc. and not necessarily to cover damages. What do you think?

Hi @Ron Steckly ,

Wondering if you've been successful in finding any wholesalers in Indianapolis and could share what you've come up with? I too am on the lookout.

Hi @Jeff S. ,

Yes, I am interested in 100% financing. However, I know a lot of people will want to see some skin in the game, so I am thinking of asking for 90% and I will put the other 10% into the project, likely $10k on this deal.

The interesting thing that came to my mind is the question of whether or not my $10k would even be needed. I feel I have run all the rehab and fixed cost conservatively to come up with a realistic purchase price that makes sense. As such, it's possible I could come in $10k under budget, effectively making this deal 100% financed. I am certainly not going to count on that though! Would a lender usually expect this amount at the closing table?

As for the backup plan being to refinance and rent, you have an interesting point there. I guess the guidance on BP is constantly saying "have multiple exit strategies", so my goal it to truly think of worst case scenario. Since I own and rent a few properties already, I thought it would give a lender more security knowing I could go this route if it became absolutely necessary. However, with that not being the ultimate goal, maybe it's best to keep this to myself as a backup and only bring it up if I am directly asked? My goal is to be at a place where I am totally confident in my numbers to make the rehab happen. Maybe I will post in the deal analysis forum for more guidance in this regard :)