I have short term (12-24 month), 5 year, 10 year, and 15 year projection models...sometimes I'll mess around with longer term (20+ years) projection models, but it's pretty difficult to project that far into the future, because there are so many unknown factors--so, the longer the projection model is, the less I tend to believe in its feasibility...My projection models allow me to make more informed decisions about things like: whether to buy or sell a particular property, whether to refi a property, whether to rehab a property, whether to pursue or abandon a particular revenue stream, how to approach rent increases, how to manage risks, what debt to pay down first, whether a particular goal is worth the amount of hours I'll need to work to achieve the goal, what my goals should be, how to achieve various goals as efficiently as possible, etc., etc.A good projection model will show you not only how to reach various goals, but it can show you all sorts of potential roadblocks that could prevent you from reaching goals (as well as potential solutions to those problems).

20% Factoring in property management we see breakeven at about 25-30% down depending on the deal.Appreciation has been 4-10% annually with variations of course.  

Hi @Francesca Zanzucchi, we use Buildium in our property management company but they do have a minimum monthly fee so depending on the number of properties, it may or may not make sense.  

We self manage all of our own units and it's worked out well for us.

@Hannah Potter Here are the things that many CPAs support their clients with:Understanding tax impact of short-term vs. long-term vs. flip before you buyWhich entity structure is best for goals and investment property typeTax and compliance on LLC or S-CorpHow to transfer property out of personal name into LLC (hard to buy 1st through entity)Ways to optimize taxes throughout the yearHow best to set up accounting to track income and expenses (doing this late is a mess)Feedback on property management systems, accounting systems. systems, etcEstimated payments to avoid penaltiesKnowing when to file and getting things in on timeMaybe a few things I missed, but this is the high-level ….. if you can get answers to the above questions on your own, plan, and file your own taxes then you can avoid the expense of a CPA.

Reach out to former landlords or property managers for insight on the applicant's rental history and reliability.

Do you have any recommendations for a good realtor or a wholesaler or a property manager that can help me out with this.

Ask them if they own STRs in the areas you are interested in or have access to actual performance data in that area through a property manager or cohost

Here are the sample journal entries for the accounts you mentioned:1.

Additionally, lenders may consider various factors such as past income statements from the subject property or income statements from similar properties nearby, managed by professionals.