All Forum Posts by: Valarie Anderson

Hi Nathan, the property is in Worland. I will look up Jerry. Someone mentioned the local realtor should be able to find more accurate info running rental comps off the local MLS for the whole area not just a single city. They just stopped by, took a look around, and based it on that. Not getting strong validation vibes based on that. 

Thanks for the verbage. I can ask another relator in the area to do this and see what they come up with. It'll be good to know which local office is more helpful and up to date. 

I did look for meetups, but there aren't any. I am putting local feelers out for others in my area that own rental property. It would be neat to get us all connected somehow. 

Since we own a separate business and rental homes, accounting knowledge in general, as well as REI now. I am comfortable with double entry, and even have a side gig as a bookkeeper for the local brewery. I've done our books for years, but I could step up my game with coding entries. Knowing a bit more accounting and tax hacks would probably clean my books up even more. We have an accountant, but since I took over the bookkeeping from his firm they only process our year end.

Thanks for the frank advice as well. We trimmed a vining bush that originates in our yard. Had to drag over the vines draping over onto their side that we cut. Didn't want to leave any green waste on their side. A LOT of dog poop came with it. An uncomfortable amount imo. I feel bad for their sweet dogs, but people can be very touchy about pets. I'll do my best, but maybe owner to owner contact would be best in the end. I'll look up the title and maybe I even know them already (small town living). 

Tried to do a search, but of course struggled because 'books' can mean your financial books and paper books. I have experience with QB and bookkeeping for my own business, personal, and other businesses. Not looking to switch programs, just up my knowledge base in a few ways:

1) Skilled in basic double entry bookkeeping, but would like to expand on this to become advanced (not necessarily expert). 

2) Increase my knowledge on coding entry items, per tax laws, for small business and single family home rentals (we have both). I'm also likely missing tax write offs and depreciations due to lack of accounting knowledge. Bookkeepers are not accountants after all.

3) Remain independent of a CPA/office doing all the work monthly/quarterly etc, analyze my own books for profitability and next ventures, report the necessary information directly to accountant for end of year tax purposes. 

I would appreciate any physical paper book recs on these topics. If you have direct experience with an online program etc I would take those recommendations as well. There are just too many to chose from, and it's hard to tell if the knowledge will be too basic for my skill level (ie repetitive and not worth my time/money). Also hard to tell when to stop educating myself. What's the threshold for roi on my own knowledge?!

Neighbors appear to be nice. They are renters as well. Not sure who owns the property. 

How do we communicate with the renters that their dog waste is a smelly issue? On a damp morning their yard reeks. If you are standing on that side of our yard, to garden (that's where the beds are), then you can smell it distinctly as well. 

Trying to be a good neighbor, not make a mountain out of a mole hill, but would love if they took care of their pet's waste. I personally don't think it's kind to let your dog roam a dirt yard like that. 

Do I let dogs lie on this one? 

Hello All,
We are struggling to find rental homes to compare to, and the local real estate company is not as helpful as we hoped. It's a lot of 'word of mouth' that owners use to get their homes rented (it's a small 5k- town in middle of Wyoming). Can't find postings or listing on any platforms, and we've reached out to the folks we do know to ask if they have rentals or know people that have rentals. 
We have seen a few 1-2 bedroom apartments for rent posted on FB, and they are asking between $675 and $775. Our property has two separate homes on it: a 3 full bed main floor 3 non-conforming bed basement, 1 and 3/4 bathrooms; and a 2 full bed 3/4 bath. Realtor said 2 bedroom could go for $700, but apartments are going for that rate.  We are aiming for $850 to start because of private 2 car parking, laundry in house, and new constructed/appliances. A fence divides the two homes, so they each have private yards and entries.
Having said that, it's hard to trust the realtor that thinks the 6 bedroom home is values at $1100 a month. We are contingent upon contract for $1200 a month, and we think that may be low. 

How do you value a rental when you can't find comparable rentals? Can you estimate per sales value of listed homes? We have not signed our tenants yet, but what's standard notification when you know you will be raising the rent next year? Of course we will notify them in advance, but is it wise to tell them before they even sign? I want to be transparent, but it's a gamble right? 

Hello Community. 

My partner and I have been in business with each other for over 13 years (longer than we've ben married). We built and owned a rock climbing gym for almost 10 of them. We now own and run a summer campground that has cabins (short term rentals). After the sale of our gym we decided to put that money to work. Initially investing in shares of other businesses, money markets, and now our first single family rental home. 

He has the skill set to build a home from scratch, and be the macro view. I have the bookkeeping and organizational skills to be the micro side. We don't always agree on risk, and where to be less or more. Other than that we do well together keeping to our 'departments'. 

I'm here to connect with anyone in Wyoming, especially women in this industry. I'm always interested in learning new ways to manage life efficiently, adding to my accounting knowledge, and protecting my financial future for the elders days ahead. Thanks for reading.