- 1). Pull out all of the receipts and records related to your investment property. Go through those records and determine how much you are paying in real estate taxes, income taxes and maintenance.
- 2). Add up all of the expenses associated with running your investment property business. Allocate that amount of money for future expenses and dedicate a portion of your monthly cash flow to a separate account earmarked for those expenses. A high interest savings account or money market fund is a good way to earn some extra money while keeping the funds safe.
- 3). Evaluate the real estate market in your local area and look for other properties in which to invest. Investing current cash flow into buying additional properties is one of the best ways to grow your real estate business.
- 4). Allocate part of your monthly cash flow to a fund for maintenance items that only occur once in a while, such as outdoor painting or deck and steps repair. This fund could also save for unexpected expenses. Having this emergency fund in place will eliminate the need to pull funds from longer term investments.
- 5). Separate the cash flow from your apartments into long term and short term categories. Short term investments should be kept in very safe instruments like savings accounts, money market funds or one- or two-year certificates of deposit (CDs). These short term investments can be set aside for emergency expenses and unexpected repairs. The longer term portion of your cash flow investments can be dedicated to buying additional apartment units, or to investing in stock and bond markets.
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