Real estate & landlords
Bookkeeping for real estate investors and landlords
Dave Platzer worked real estate in Philadelphia and mortgage lending in South Jersey. He keeps investor books that hold up at refi time. Greater Philadelphia in person, virtual anywhere in the US.
Investor books come down to 4 things: class tracking so every dollar lands on the right property, capital improvements kept separate from operating expenses, rent and deposits reconciled cleanly, and a net operating income you can actually trust when a lender asks. Dave has sat on both sides of that table, as an investor and in mortgage lending.
A bookkeeper who knows how lenders read your books
Dave worked real estate in Philadelphia and spent time in mortgage lending in South Jersey. He has seen thousands of borrowers' books from the lender's side of the desk, so he knows exactly what makes a refinance easy and what makes an underwriter nervous. That perspective is rare in a bookkeeper, and for an investor it is worth real money.
The strategy most investors run, buy, improve, refinance, and repeat, only works if your numbers are clean enough to borrow against. Books that blur properties together or bury capital improvements in with repairs quietly cap how much equity you can pull. Dave keeps them in the shape that lets you keep moving.
What investor books need that generic bookkeeping misses
Class tracking, so every property stands alone
One blended number across a portfolio tells you almost nothing. Class or location tracking assigns every dollar of income and expense to a specific property, so you can see which doors earn their keep and which ones quietly drain the others. Dave sets it up and reclasses the history, so even a messy start becomes property-by-property clarity.
Capital improvements separated from repairs
A new roof is not a repair, and treating it like one distorts both your taxes and your net operating income. Dave keeps capital improvements and operating expenses cleanly apart, consistently, and coordinates the treatment with your CPA so the depreciation and the deductions land where they should. Read our complete guide tocapital improvements vs. repairsand the $2,500 IRS safe harbor.
Rent, deposits, and escrow in the right place
Rent reconciled against what actually arrived. Security deposits carried as a liability, not counted as income you will owe back. Escrow and reserves kept where they belong. These details get sloppy fast across a growing portfolio, and they are the ones that bite at tax time and at sale.
A net operating income you can trust
NOI is the number a lender underwrites and the number that tells you whether a property is really working. It is only as good as the books beneath it. When your properties, improvements, and true operating costs are all clean, your NOI is real, and you can walk into a refinance knowing your numbers before the lender does.
What Dave handles for your portfolio
Monthly bookkeeping with class tracking by property. Cleanup and catch-up when a growing portfolio has outrun its books. QuickBooks set up around how your holdings actually work, with rent, deposits, and financing recorded correctly. Reporting per property and across the portfolio, in plain language, so you know each door's story and the whole picture. And an advisor who understands the borrow-improve-refinance rhythm you are running.
Philadelphia investors, and investors anywhere
Dave meets Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey investors and landlords in person, and works virtually with investors anywhere in the United States. Whether you hold 2 doors or 20, the goal is the same: books clean enough to make decisions from and clean enough to borrow against.
Want the full breakdown first? ReadDave's guide to bookkeeping for real estate investors.
Real estate bookkeeping questions
How should real estate investors track income and expenses by property?
With class or location tracking. It assigns every dollar of income and expense to a specific property, so you see each door's real performance instead of one blended number. Dave sets it up and can reclass existing history relatively quickly, so even books that started as one big pile become property-by-property.
Is a new roof or HVAC a repair or a capital improvement?
Generally a full replacement is a capital improvement, depreciated over time, while a service call or patch is an operating expense. The distinction changes your taxes and your net operating income. Dave knows the treatment on sight and keeps it consistent, and coordinates with your CPA so nothing gets miscounted.
Why does clean bookkeeping matter for a cash-out refinance?
Because the lender underwrites your net operating income. If your books do not cleanly separate properties, capital improvements, and true operating costs, you do not know your real NOI, and neither does the lender. Clean books mean a faster refi, more equity you can actually pull, and dry powder for the next deal.
Do you handle rent, security deposits, and escrow correctly?
Yes. Rent gets reconciled, security deposits are tracked as a liability rather than income, and escrow and reserves are kept where they belong. These are the details that get sloppy fast across a growing portfolio and cause real problems at tax time and sale time.
Do you work with investors outside Philadelphia?
Yes. Dave worked real estate in Philadelphia and mortgage lending in South Jersey, so the local market is home ground, and he meets area investors in person. He also works virtually with investors and landlords anywhere in the United States, wherever the doors are.
Books clean enough to borrow against.
Book a free consultation. Tell Dave about your properties, and he'll tell you plainly what your books need to hold up at refi and at tax time. He has read them from the lender's side.