Property Flipper
New Feature: Itemize and Estimate Improvement Costs!
October 27, 2010
Property Evaluator and Property Flipper version 3.4 was released today for the iPhone and iPad. Version 3.4 adds the ability to itemize and estimate improvement costs, and enter improvements in future years. This has been one of the most-requested features since the 3.0 release. This feature took quite a while to implement, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.
So now you can enter the improvement costs in 3 different ways:
1.) As a fixed dollar amount. This is useful when you just have a few improvements and you know the total improvement cost off the top of your head.
2.) As a single cost per square foot value. Experienced investors who flip properties often estimate improvement costs with a fixed improvement cost per square foot. For example, a basic cleanup and make-ready job might be $5 per square foot, while a complete remodel might be $25 per square foot.
3.) As itemized expenses. If the property needs extensive repairs and improvements, you can itemize the expenses, and the total improvement cost will be calculated automatically. Each itemized improvement cost can be entered as a fixed amount, or it can be estimated using the built-in cost estimator.
The cost estimator allows you to create your own custom improvement categories and assign a unit name and cost per unit to each one. For example, you might estimate carpet at $3 per square foot, and a new roof at $2 per square foot.
Improvement costs can also be entered in future years.
So let’s say I’m a flipper walking through a property. I see that the carpet in the 12-foot square living room needs to be replaced, so I add an itemized improvement called “Carpet in Living Room”, enter 144 for the quantity, and tap on the Carpet category. Then I see that the roof might need to be replaced in 5 years, so I add an itemized improvement in Year 5, choose the “Replace Roof” category, and enter the property square footage.
Now the itemized improvement costs are automatically calculated and presented in a simple table. This is really helpful when you need to present a financial projection to a lender or an investment partner.
If you find this feature useful, please send me your feedback or write a review on iTunes. More exciting news is on the way, so keep an eye on this blog for updates.
1.) As a fixed dollar amount. This is useful when you just have a few improvements and you know the total improvement cost off the top of your head.
2.) As a single cost per square foot value. Experienced investors who flip properties often estimate improvement costs with a fixed improvement cost per square foot. For example, a basic cleanup and make-ready job might be $5 per square foot, while a complete remodel might be $25 per square foot.
3.) As itemized expenses. If the property needs extensive repairs and improvements, you can itemize the expenses, and the total improvement cost will be calculated automatically. Each itemized improvement cost can be entered as a fixed amount, or it can be estimated using the built-in cost estimator.
The cost estimator allows you to create your own custom improvement categories and assign a unit name and cost per unit to each one. For example, you might estimate carpet at $3 per square foot, and a new roof at $2 per square foot.
Improvement costs can also be entered in future years.
So let’s say I’m a flipper walking through a property. I see that the carpet in the 12-foot square living room needs to be replaced, so I add an itemized improvement called “Carpet in Living Room”, enter 144 for the quantity, and tap on the Carpet category. Then I see that the roof might need to be replaced in 5 years, so I add an itemized improvement in Year 5, choose the “Replace Roof” category, and enter the property square footage.
Now the itemized improvement costs are automatically calculated and presented in a simple table. This is really helpful when you need to present a financial projection to a lender or an investment partner.
If you find this feature useful, please send me your feedback or write a review on iTunes. More exciting news is on the way, so keep an eye on this blog for updates.
Version 3.3 lets you duplicate properties!
September 28, 2010
Version 3.3 of Property Evaluator and Property Flipper was released today with some great new features.
I really try to prioritize my development efforts based on customer feedback, and today’s update delivers the most popular feature requests over the last few months.
First up is the ability to duplicate properties. This is really useful in a couple of situations. Let’s say that you just finished analyzing a property, and now you want to look at some what-if scenarios. What if the rent is 10% lower? What if I put 30% down instead of 20% down? The list goes on. Instead of entering the property data all over again, you can just duplicate the property, change a number or two, and see how it affects the performance projections.
The Duplicate feature is also really handy if you’re a real estate agent and you want to create projections for several listings that are all very similar. For example, you might be listing 5 condos in the same development that all have the same floor plan, but the addresses are different, and the prices are slightly different. Now you can just duplicate the first property, change the address and the price, and send out a PDF of the projection to your clients.
Many people requested the ability to add their contact info to the header of each page of the performance projection, so I added that to version 3.3 as well. You can customize what info appears in the header by choosing PDF Report Settings from the Settings within the app.
You can also add a disclaimer to the bottom of the cover page of the PDF Report, and you can add some comments about the property, that appear just below the property address on the cover page.
You can also enter some private notes about the property, that are only visible within the app. For example, you might enter some data that is only visible to agents within the MLS. The private notes do not appear on the PDF Reports.
Finally, I added the Assumptions section to the Evaluator report, and I added a clear button on the right side of the text entry fields so that you can clear the contents of the text field with a single tap instead of multiple taps on the backspace button.
I really appreciate all of the great feedback and feature requests. Together, we can make some really great tools for real estate investors!
Property Evaluator 3 is Now Available!
April 16, 2010
Property Evaluator 3 for the iPhone is now available on the App Store!
This version has been in the works for the last year. Property Evaluator was completely rewritten from the ground up to create a real estate analysis tool that is much more powerful and flexible than the previous version.
In version 3 you can create your own custom categories for income, expenses, and itemized closing costs. You can also assign a custom frequency to any transaction. For example, you might collect rent monthly, pay your insurance annually, and pay your homeowner’s association dues quarterly. With version 3, you can enter these items exactly the way you pay them.
You can also make any transaction proportional to another transaction. For example, you could make the rent 1% of the purchase price, make the taxes 1% of the sale price, make the management fees 10% of the annual income, or make the sale price $100 per square foot. This makes the data entry much more accurate and efficient.
Both Property Evaluator and Property Flipper are now available in 3 versions: Standard, Premium, and Pro. The Standard version is limited to evaluating a single property with up to 3 expenses. The Premium version lets you save multiple properties, and email the financial projections to your clients, lenders, or investment partners as a PDF file. The Pro version adds the ability to evaluate multi-unit and commercial properties, and it adds a cover page to the PDF reports with your name, company, and contact info.
In version 3, the emails are sent directly from the iPhone app instead of through the server.
You can upgrade to the Premium or Pro versions directly within the Standard version using in-app purchase. Note that version 3 is a separate app from version 2. So if you already purchased version 2, you’ll have to purchase version 3 separately. I had to do this for the following reasons:
1.) I created a new data format that is much more flexible and powerful than the old format, and the two formats are not compatible.
2.) In order to enable in-app purchase within the app, I had to create a different type of App ID that wasn't compatible with the old Property Evaluator app.
3.) Version 3 requires iPhone OS 3 or higher, while version 2.5 works with iPhone OS 2 and higher. I wanted to keep the older version available for people who haven't upgraded their iPhone OS to version 3 yet.
I’m really excited about this release, since it builds a solid foundation for many more great new features that I have planned.
The next project that I’m working on is creating versions of Property Evaluator and Property Flipper for the iPad! The extra screen space is going to allow some really nice enhancements to the user interface!
This version has been in the works for the last year. Property Evaluator was completely rewritten from the ground up to create a real estate analysis tool that is much more powerful and flexible than the previous version.
In version 3 you can create your own custom categories for income, expenses, and itemized closing costs. You can also assign a custom frequency to any transaction. For example, you might collect rent monthly, pay your insurance annually, and pay your homeowner’s association dues quarterly. With version 3, you can enter these items exactly the way you pay them.
You can also make any transaction proportional to another transaction. For example, you could make the rent 1% of the purchase price, make the taxes 1% of the sale price, make the management fees 10% of the annual income, or make the sale price $100 per square foot. This makes the data entry much more accurate and efficient.
Both Property Evaluator and Property Flipper are now available in 3 versions: Standard, Premium, and Pro. The Standard version is limited to evaluating a single property with up to 3 expenses. The Premium version lets you save multiple properties, and email the financial projections to your clients, lenders, or investment partners as a PDF file. The Pro version adds the ability to evaluate multi-unit and commercial properties, and it adds a cover page to the PDF reports with your name, company, and contact info.
In version 3, the emails are sent directly from the iPhone app instead of through the server.
You can upgrade to the Premium or Pro versions directly within the Standard version using in-app purchase. Note that version 3 is a separate app from version 2. So if you already purchased version 2, you’ll have to purchase version 3 separately. I had to do this for the following reasons:
1.) I created a new data format that is much more flexible and powerful than the old format, and the two formats are not compatible.
2.) In order to enable in-app purchase within the app, I had to create a different type of App ID that wasn't compatible with the old Property Evaluator app.
3.) Version 3 requires iPhone OS 3 or higher, while version 2.5 works with iPhone OS 2 and higher. I wanted to keep the older version available for people who haven't upgraded their iPhone OS to version 3 yet.
I’m really excited about this release, since it builds a solid foundation for many more great new features that I have planned.
The next project that I’m working on is creating versions of Property Evaluator and Property Flipper for the iPad! The extra screen space is going to allow some really nice enhancements to the user interface!
New iPhone Apps Coming Soon!
February 08, 2010
Over the last year, I have been working on a complete rewrite of Property Evaluator for the iPhone. Version 3 will allow you to create custom income and expense categories, send PDF files directly from the iPhone, and change the default values of any of the inputs.
I’ll also be releasing a new app designed specifically for investors that are flipping properties. Keep an eye on RealEstateTools.com over the next month for more details.
I’ll also be releasing a new app designed specifically for investors that are flipping properties. Keep an eye on RealEstateTools.com over the next month for more details.