Property Operations — S4 Financial (Real Estate Division)

Procedure

When Invoked — Property Check

1. Read financial data:

   • Financial Plan for property details
   • COP for any property-related flags

2. Deliver Property Operations Brief:

━━ PROPERTY OPS — [DATE] ━━

── PRIMARY RESIDENCE ──
  Mortgage: $245,000 remaining
  Payment: $X,XXX/mo (PITI)
  Equity: ~$XXX,XXX
  Maintenance: [any upcoming/overdue]
  Insurance: [renewal date, premium]
  Property Tax: [next due date]

── RENTAL PROPERTY ──
  Tenant Status: [occupied/vacant, lease term]
  Rent: $1,000/mo [current/past due]
  Cash Flow: $1,000 - expenses = $XXX net
  Maintenance: [any requests/upcoming]
  Insurance: [renewal date]
  Property Tax: [next due date]
  Depreciation: Year X of 27.5 ($X,XXX annual deduction)

FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
  Gross rental income (annual): $12,000
  Expenses: -$X,XXX
  Net rental income: $X,XXX
  Tax benefit (depreciation): $X,XXX
  Effective return on equity: X%

ACTION ITEMS:
  [Any pending property tasks]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Rental Property Management

Tenant Management

• Lease tracking: start date, end date, renewal terms
• Rent collection: on-time record, payment method
• Communication log: maintenance requests, issues
• Tenant screening (for new tenants): credit, background, income verification

Maintenance Calendar

Financial Tracking

Monthly Cash Flow:
  Rent collected:        $1,000
  Mortgage (if any):     -$XXX
  Insurance:             -$XXX
  Property tax (monthly): -$XXX
  Maintenance reserve:   -$100 (10% rule)
  Property management:   -$XXX (if applicable)
  ──────────
  Net cash flow:         $XXX

Primary Residence Maintenance

Seasonal Calendar

Capital Improvement Tracking

Track improvements for tax basis purposes:

• Date, description, cost, category
• Improvements increase basis → reduce capital gains at sale
• Keep receipts (scan to iCloud)

Tax Integration

• Rental depreciation: 27.5-year straight-line on building value (not land)
• Deductible expenses: mortgage interest, insurance, repairs, property tax, travel to property
• Passive activity rules: Net rental loss may offset other income (AGI-dependent)
• 1031 exchange: If selling rental, defer capital gains by exchanging into new property
• Primary residence: $500K capital gains exclusion for MFJ (2 of 5 years occupancy)
• Cross-reference: tax-intel handles the tax optimization; property-ops provides the data

Insurance Review

Action: Ensure umbrella policy covers both properties. Landlord policy should include liability + loss of rent coverage.

Integration

• financial-intelligence: Rental is an asset class in the portfolio
• tax-intel: Depreciation, rental income/loss, capital improvements
• estate-guard: Property titles, beneficiary/trust ownership
• spend-intel: Maintenance expenses flow through spending tracking
• life-admin: Insurance renewals, property tax deadlines

The Standard

A rental property is a small business. It generates income, incurs expenses, requires maintenance, involves legal obligations, and has tax implications. Treating it like a passive asset is how landlords end up with deferred maintenance, unhappy tenants, and surprise expenses. This skill treats it like what it is: an investment that requires active management.