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| General (see also headings under Family) |
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HomeShop at BookSurgeJuvenile FictionSocial IssuesGeneral (see also headings under Family)Property Management Accounting: A Survival Guide for Non-Accountants |
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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 12 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 20 minutes and little to show for it. Aug 14, 2010
By N. Gesner
I read the book cover-to-cover in about twenty minutes and couldn't believe it was (at one time) selling for nearly thirty bucks! I got more out of the first few pages than I did the remainder of the book because it seemed to say the same things over and over. It spends a large chunk giving examples of accrual accounting even though they state almost everyone uses cash-based. The basics of accounting (keeping two books, for every credit there must be a debit, etc.) could easily be explained in a couple pages. The difference between accounting for one property and accounting for multiple (property management) could be explained in a couple pages. Add a couple pages for the graphics and you've got a brochure, just like others have stated. Too much time was wasted saying the same thing over and over.
I've been using Buildium to manage 120 properties for a couple months. It works very well for me, simplifies a lot of processes, and has taught me quite a bit about property management accounting. This book added nothing. I originally thought of telling Buildium they should send this book to everyone that signs up for their software, but after reading it I don't think it would help anyone. They already provide video tutorials online that give much, much more information than this book does.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this for anyone, whether you use the Buildium program or something else. I wanted to expand my knowledge of accounting but it's clear I'll need to attend a class or get another book.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Property Management accounting lite ! Sep 08, 2010
By Evil Queen
"Bad and Bold"
I am a Regional Property Manager that continually looks for training material for my onsite managment employee's. Many of our employee's start as Leasing Consultants and don't understand accounting or it's terms, which is critical as they progress up the ladder. August is the start of budget season, what better time to explain basic accounting to those that showed interest. At the end of the 45 minute session, my employee's had a better understanding of how all the accounting reports I review are intertwined by way of the General Ledger and what debits/credits really are. They now understand how a concession is treated and what it does to the financial picture. Just transferred an Assistant Manager from a cash basis property to an accrual based property and I used the definitions in this book to explain the difference between the two. We have a tendency to speak in pm terms when on the property and fail to realize that many of our employees are "Faking it till they make it". Embarassed to inform anyone that they really don't understand everything we throw out on a daily basis. I myself have been in the industry 20+ years, and this book would have been extremely helpful in those earlier years of my career.
For the small owner/operator that does not have any property management accounting skills ~ you need this book. I have recently taken on the management of two small assets that were owner managed, unfortunately they are now owned by the bank and although the loss of the properties to foreclosure isn't solely due to the lack of accounting it may have enlightend the couple to the severity of the sitution much quicker.
I would not suggest that you use this guide as your sole resource, however if what you need is a simple to understand guide as to property management accounting terms and simple accounting entries then this is definately a good place to start. Knowledge is always worth something ... best $10 that someone searching for this information can spend.
6 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Short, sweet, and to the point Mar 01, 2010
By Gazar
If you're looking for a 30lb. textbook on accounting, this is not the book for you. However, if you're looking for a concise, well written guide to the basics of property management accounting give this one a shot. By reading the book and following the examples, someone (like me) who knows how to manage their personal finances but doesn't know how to properly "keep the books" for a property management company can gain the knowledge and confidence to do so.
5 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Harmony Review Dec 07, 2009
By Michelle Lee
We are a small HOA management company with only a part time accountant. Therefore, it is very important for the non-accounting people to understand basic accounting for homeowner associations. This book is very easy to read and understand and I find that it has been a significant help with our many accounting tasks.
8 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Bad Buy Oct 27, 2009
By knoxbury
"knoxbury"
The 5 star review for this book is pure marketing fluff. No one could legitimately give this book 5 stars. As others have said, this is an overpriced pamphlet. And not only is it overpriced, it's redundant. You could sum up the "meat" of the book in 2 sentences (what is a debit account and what is a credit account) and all that follows is example after example of crediting and debiting accounts when 1 example would have gotten the point across.
My best guess is that this book was written to provide you with enough information to sound helpful and show enough examples to wish you had PM accounting software to do this for you (enter Buildium). I'm a Buildium user and I can say that I have gained very little from this book and definitely not $30 worth of info! $9.99 is the most I would pay for this book. If the goal of this book was to drive managers to use Buildium, I would think that Buildium would have had more success offering this as a free pdf download instead of robbing potential customers and leaving a bad taste in their mouths as to the benefits of Buildium. Do yourself a favor, skip this book, grab a PM for Dummies book and sign up for a trial of Buildium to see if it's right for you.
See all 12 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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