All Forum Posts by: Tom Sproul

@Scott TrenchThanks! I already use RentRedi for the rentals and am content for the moment, but Monarch was a great recommendation.  That fits my needs better than YNAB appeared to and is very close to Mint.  Probably a little better fit than Mint since there are no ads and minimal cost with some better features.  Monarch does a great job of being the "dashboard" and appears to have good customization features.

I began a quest for personal finance / accounting software that will help me keep tabs on my cash flow / net worth.  Mint did a decent job for me previously, and Credit Karma is less adequate.  I read a forum post on a personal finance blog about a user using YNAB and Credit Karma together to problem solve.  This looked intriguing, but I'm worried that YNAB is less user friendly for my situation.

Queue the back story: I work as a realtor with a small RE investment portfolio, and my wife is a more stable W2 Engineer.  We have many accounts to cover my day job, our properties and our personal finance.  I'd like to have some kind of "dashboard" to keep tabs on all the mortgages, cash flows, etc.  I'm wondering if YNAB is too simplistic (i.e. one mortgage, not 3+) and I need to graduate to some kind of small business accounting software that can spit out P&Ls.  I love how Mint was "semi-automatic", and did a decent job on its own although you needed to come in and tweak categories.

All this to say, are there any other Mom & Pop investors out there with more complex personal finance that have found useful software solutions?  Can YNAB handle my complexities?  Should I just bite the bullet and hire a bookkeeper?  TIA for your thoughts!

At what scale does it make sense to start exploring a cost segregation study?  Does the cost of the study scale with the size of the investment?  Who does these (not looking for specific companies), is it accountants, lawyers, agents, and/or contractors?  Seems like an interesting niche...

I had always assumed these were for larger scale commercial investments, but in the recent On The Market episode, Brandon Hall used an example of a $100k property.  Not sure if that was for easy numbers or if this is something that can apply to most six-figure investments.  In my head it's always been a 7+ figure investment tool... 

Thanks in advance!

Tre,

I live just down the street from those townhomes and have been watching them go up. It really depends on your investment philosophy. Because it is new construction in an HOA, it makes a lot of sense if you are not very "hands on" when it comes to sweat equity. If you have a solid income and do not want the time, energy and headaches of renovations, and plan to buy in the path of progress and hold for a long time, then it is a solid choice.

I purchased a townhome several years ago just outside Blacksburg thinking I'd rent to grad students, and about half the time I actually rented to professors for VT and Radford.  The location of those townhomes would make it a decent commute to either University.

If you have any questions I'm happy to be a resource.

AirBnB says yes!  Consider just calling their planning / zoning administrator.  I worked as a Land Development Consultant for 10 years and found planning / zoning folks to be helpful when you engage them.  Also, they may know about an ordinance that is being written but not yet released, or if regulations are being considered in 2-5 years, so it can pay to pick up the phone.

Talk to your RE Agent, especially if they are an investor too.  They likely have access to a database of standard statewide rental forms.

The big question to me is whether or not you already have a late fee clause in your lease.  If yes, and you haven't been enforcing it, I recommend taking the good ol' Brandon Turner approach.  Talk to a lawyer (friend, if possible) and ask "Should I be enforcing my lease?, Yes, OK".  Then, have a kind and frank conversation with your tenant saying that your lawyer told you that legally you have to enforce a late fee.  Blame somebody else so you don't have to be the bad guy when delivering bad news.

I collect rent using an online system that automatically charges a late fee if rent is paid late.  If that is an option to you with your current rent collection systems, I recommend putting that into place.

If a late fee is not written into your lease, then delay this conversation until it is time to renew.  Make it part of the renewal addendum then put everything into place.

This is one of those "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" instances.  While this sounds like a pain, it could still get worse before it gets better.  I would try to set some money aside for an eviction (or judgment suit in today's landscape), cash for keys, or to help cover your costs until you can get a better system (and possibly tenant) in place.