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FAQ - Property data entry

GarthChapman

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Aug 30, 2007
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1. Do we bother filling out the "Ownership" field if our company has 100% ownership?Yes, the Ownership information for each Property is needed for various Reports and calculations regarding cashflow etc.2. How do you change the rental value under "Property Revenue" without re-setting the previous months?Double-click the entry to bring it up into the fields above the grid. Delete any figures from the `Amount` field and leave it blank. Choose `Manual Entry` and make your entries in the months you want them in. Then click `Save Entry`. We are going to re-vamp this area very soon to make it more intuitive and to reduce the possibility for User errors.
3. Program mentions changing the auto set date from 1901, but we can`t find anything anywhere that explains how to do this.

We built the system deliberately so you cannot change that date. For dates that REMA cannot calculate for you it will force you to enter the date in the specific field. We chose the date in 1901 as it appears clearly to you as a date that needs to be changed by you.

4. What is the "Improvement Value" used for, under Property Details, Misc Tab?

This is designed for things like basement development, detached garage and other similar development that was not originally on the property. This is not for flooring replacement or painting, but for new development on the property. This can be used to help confirm that you have appropriate insurance coverage, which can be helpful during times of rapidly increasing construction and materials costs. But you must have a pretty good idea of the building`s replacement cost per sq ft for this to be relatively accurate.

IMPORTANT NOTE- It is your Insurers obligation to ensure adequate coverage on your property. It is your responsibility to completely describe the property to your Insurer by answering fully all their questions/forms. It is not advisable for you to tell your insurer what the insured amount should be, as if there was a claim and the coverage was insufficient the Insurer would not be obligated to make up the difference.

You can ignore this area if you prefer to.

5. Under Mortgage Data, there is an area for "Calculate Principal as a % of Purchase Price", how do we make use of this? What numbers do we use?

If you are getting a mortgage for 75% of the Purchase Price you would enter `75` and REMA will then calculate the amount of the mortgage.

6. Under Mortgage Data, Banking & Key Dates Tab, how does the anniversary date and the maturity date of the mortgage differ?

The Anniversary Date is one year from the Funding Date. The Maturity Date is the date the term of the mortgage ends (not the same as the amortization length, that being the number of years the payments are amortized over).

7. In Ownership Data, what is the "Initial Cash Payment" check box for?

The amount is calculated in the previous Tab "Acquisition Costs`. That is to be done first. So the amount is the cash required to close the deal, fund the initial Capital expenses and the Staying Power Fund. So in each Owner you can decide how much they will paoy of that toal required, either by using your own pre-calculated amount or by letting REMA calculate as a % of the total required amount.

8. Under Expenses, we don`t like the "FICSAL YEAR" drop down box, you should be able to select all and see all expenses for all years relating to that property.

We worked with that quite a bit. If it is all merged together it is too hard to make sense of the entries or to check them, so we built it like this so Users can see the expenses for each of the 5 years forward and also for two years in the past.

9. How should we go about utilizing "Future Value Costs"? We aren`t clear about what should be entered there as it does the math on its own.Whatever you think will be costs when you sell. Legal fees, advertising, maybe even repairs or renovations you would do to spruce the property up before selling.10. When entering the info regarding the first mortgage payment date, do we use the interest adjustment date or just the date the first payment is withdrawn? Do we adjust for a lower interest rate?If for a new Property rather than a refinance the system will calculate the dates from the possession date. Once you receive your mortgage docs from your lawyer after closing you may need to adjust those dates as the banks often choose a first payment date that is not what you predicted or arranged in advance. All you do is enter the Date Mortgage Funded entry and the rest is calculated for you. If you over-ride the other entries the system will correct them again based on the Funded Date (so you can use that date to get the other dates to be what you want if the bank sets your payment date at a time other than 30 days from the Funding Date). We may allow a User over-ride of the payment date if required by User feedback.

11. How do we track Condo Fees? Separately under expenses?

Yes, that is where I would do it.

12. How is the Future Value calculated in each Property?

The Future Value calculated in each Property is determined from:
1)Your recorded Current Market Value (in the Property Details/Misc window)
2)Your recorded Appreciation in the Property (in the Property Details/Location, Legal & Appreciation window)
3)The Estimated Sale date (which then calculates the Estimated Sale Price from the these three above factors)
The calculations then run further and determine the mortgage amount owing as of the Estimated Sale Date, mortgage payout penalty (if checked in Banking & Key Dates screen of the Mortgage), Realtor commissions and any other Future Sale costs that you have entered in the grid in this window.

13. Security Deposits / Last Month`s Rent

Question: I entered a tenant file, but did not put in a bank record as Ontario does not have `Security Deposit` but we do have `Last Month Rent` - and got the following error message "2147217887 (80040E21)"
"Cannot add/change because a related record is required in table `bankaccts`"
-I did this twice to validate and had a `terminal` exit from the application.
Answer: You need to assign a bank account to track the Security Deposit or Last Month`s rent.
-The current version now reads "Security Deposit/Last Month`s Rent" on the Tenant screen and will not let you out of the Tenant form without entering the required data (so that error message won`t appear again).

14. How do I enter Properties that I already own?


Question- I have entered a Property where ownership (and mortgage) starts in 2006, but the current market value is entered as of now (using a reasonable estimate). Is this okay?

Answer- You have made the Current Value entry correctly. It is something you should update periodically as values change, as that figure drives numbers and calculations in other areas of the program and in Reports also.

Also- We recommend that you make these entries via the Analyzer, then you will have a record of your expected performance of this Property for future reference.

15. Interest-only Mortgages and Lines of Credit entry

Question- What should I enter for the term for an interest only LOC? Does it matter what I enter?

Answer- While lines of credit may or may not have a term, Interest-only mortgages do, so that field can be used as it will drive a Reminder when the term is coming up for renewal.16. When entering data into the financial areas Question- When adding new entries unless you tab or click into the next field the calculations will not be completed.
Answer- When you enter any data into a field you should always tab out of the field - that way any calculations that are based on the fields content will happen.

17. Adding new Vendors

Question- I added a new Property Manager Vendor from the New button and then could not retrieve theat new Vendor from the pull-down menu. Where did it go?
Answer- When you add a new Vendor, you have to select the Vendor Type. In your example, you entered it with a Vendor Type of `Other Vendor` which won`t show up when you are looking for Property Managers. You can now go back to the new Vendor you created and change the Vendor Type to `Property Manager` and then try to use it again.

18.
Refinancing an existing Property

Question- I purchased the property in 2004 and I just refinanced it. I seem to be getting tangled up there because the property details show I have a negative downpayment.
Answer- Now that you have re-financed the property you probably actually do have a negative cash investment (cumulatively). I mean by this that you have a mortgage now that is larger then your total Acquisition cost of the Property. If the current cash flow and Equity position fit your objectives, then congratulations! This means you have extracted enough equity to further your goals, perhaps by buying another Property(s). When you complete the entries if you are not sure of the resulting info you are getting in the reports just email them to me along with screenshots of the related entry screens and I will be happy to analyze it for you. You could go to the trouble of recording the original mortgage and then `Discharging` it if you want a complete history in the Property of its Financing but I don`t think you really need to.

19. Ownership data entries

In the ownership tab, I put in my downpayment and it`s percentage then the program fills in what is called the Cash Call. When I try to save I get a message that says the cash % must equal 100%. I`m not sure what it wants here. I`ve tried a variety of things but can`t figure it out.
Answer- I think what you are completing here is the Ownership (not cash call - that can be used later on if there is a cash call). That is the only place where you should get a `Requires 100% message.

20. Cash Calls

Question- What do you mean by cash call? I always thought a cash call was like a demand payment and can`t figure out it`s meaning in this context unless it refers to the mortgage amount.
Answer- Your definition of a Cash Call is pretty accurate. After you have closed on the property if you ever require more funds from one or more Owners (JV Partners included – whether on title or not, they should be listed as Owners) you make the entries for the amounts required as a Cash Call. You will do this by clicking on the Ownership tab and then on the Cash Calls button.
/>21. How do I enter a new City and Zoning code?Answer- It is easiest to do this from the menus in Maintain Tables, but you can also do it from the Analyzer. Here are the steps:
1- Click on the New button beside the City field

2- Create the new City and attach it to the correct Province

3- Go back out and into the Analyzed Property

4- Select the Correct Province

5- Select the newly created City

6- Click the New button beside the Zoning Code field

7- Select the new City from the City Name drop-down menu

8- Create the new Zoning code

9- Go back into the Analyzed Property

10- Select the Zoning Code for the new City

22. Why does Vacancy not appear as an expense on the Cashflow Report
In Analyzer Vacancy is handled `below the line` from the vacancy % allowance you entered in My Preferences, or as over-written in the analyzed property. In your Portfolio you can handle Vacancy in a couple of ways.

1) You can create a new `Vacancy` item in your Income & Expense Codes in `Maintain Tables` and then make projected vacancy expense entries in your properties.

2) You can choose to not make any vacancy entry but update your Income & Expenses at the end of each month so you have an actual record of what you cashflows were. This can also be achieved through an analysis of your book-keeping records, although you will have to adjust for items like the principle pay-down of mortgages and depreciation, as those entries are handled differently in your books than on a Cashflow report.

23. I’m trying to enter information about my suites in my first property in REMA. For some reason it’s not allowing me to add a second suite in the suite info tab, and as such I’m not able to attach revenue to that second suite.


Answer- In the Property Details tab make sure you select ‘Multi-family’ and also enter the number of Suites the Property has. Then choose to either track revenue by Suite or by Property. You can make these changes at any time, even after having already entered all the property data. You can choose treat houses with Secondary Suites as ‘Multi-Family’, or even a house where you rent the garage separately.

24. Can you tell me the easy way to email a copy of an analysis/ proforma to someone?
Answer- Save the report as a PDF and then email it. We recommend you save it in a new folder for that property, so you can retrieve the file anytime later – and if you change something in the property you can over-write the pdf with the updated one.



Remember you can now use the new JV Presentation report feature, with your title page and any of a number of available REMA reports included.
 
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