I do not want to make that a common practice since I am trying to reuse the same bucket of money over and over again.As far as knowing what expense amounts to use.  

This last weekend we had a REALLY bad rainstorm (Seattle) and it leaked in one spot, though I was able to catch it in the attic with a bucket before it damaged the ceiling.

I also think you may need to put more than $15/month in a cap ex bucket.

While it is possible to have all moneys in one company and split it into two buckets for tax preparation - it's much easier to do when they are already naturally separated between two LLCs.2.

Assumptions: Lowest Appraisal Loan INCOME AND RATE OF RETURN Purchase Price 154,900.00 Loan Amount 123,920.00 Down Payment 30,980.00 Estimated Annnual Gross Rents 15,540.00 Estimated Annual Equity Paydown 1,700.18 Estimated Annual Principal & Interest ($8,350.19) Estimated Annual Property Taxes ($3,000.00) Estimated Annual Homeowners Insurance ($746.78) Estimated Annual HOA Dues $0.00 Estimated Annual Management Fees ($1,877.75) Utility costs to be paid by landlord (if any) Annual $0.00 Lawn mainteannce costs to be paid by landlord (if any) Annual $0.00 Indirect Vacancy Allowance Annual ($) ($155.40) Repair Allowance Annual ($) ($621.60) Misc. bucket for costs per month Annual ($60.00) Estimated Annual Net Expenses ($14,811.72) SUMMARY OF RETURNS Estimated Annual Gross Income $2,428.46 Estimated Monthly Gross Income $202.37 Estimated Annual Gross ROI 7.84% ESTIMATE OF CASH FLOW Loan Amount 123,920.00 Interest Rate 5.40% Loan Term in Months 360 Estimated Principal & Interest ($695.85) Estimated Monthly Taxes ($250.00) Estimated Monthly Homeowners Insurance ($62.23) Estimated Monthly HOA Dues $0.00 Estimated Monthly - MISC ($69.75) Estimated Monthly Management Fees ($156.48) SUMMARY OF CASH FLOW Estimated Monthly Gross Cash Flow $60.69

If a lawsuit is filed the insurance steps in or the company which owns nothing is bankrupted and you are out the start up costs only.Your business entity should lease from each land trust with a right to sublet.A series or bucket LLC in Illinois will end up serving a plaintiff attorney with a hunting license.

I don't know many people that actually save money in different little buckets like that every month but you should at least be aware of what's looming and have a plan in place to deal with it. 

to be an actual fix and flip investor / business  its quite capital intensive.. and just a down payment is just a drop in the bucket of the capital required.your best bet is to put a little private network together if you really want to do this.or get your license and specialize in finding these types of properties for fix and flippers.. make a commish selling it for them.. and then the list back.. that's what agents in our market here do and they will knock down 250 to 500k a year no sweat in commish with no risks of borrowing money or a flip that did not work.

For my buy and hold portfolio I have a few buckets that I put funds into.

Then pick the top two or three platforms that will meet the needs of each bucket that you determine you want.