real estate investments, how to ?

[oliv928]

hello,
i would like to know if the house purshase, and management : ie : taxes, charges, re investment as re building , is processed within Fund Manager.
Otherwise should we create something like a stock investment, where the value of the share is linked to real estate market, ...
I know that the soft GnuCash has a special account type for that.
thanx

[Mark]

Hello oliv928,

There are no special features for real estate investments, but you can track them. I'd suggest creating an investment of type "Other". Keep the share price fixed at $1, like a cash account. The number of shares would equal the value. If you want to record an increase/decrease in value of the asset, record a reinvested dividend. The dividend would be positive for an increase, or negative for a decrease. The price would always stay at $1.

[oliv928]

thank you. nice idea.
what about :
1/ investments ( solid re buildings)
2/ charges ( maintenance)
3/ several taxes
?
thanx

[Mark]

Hi oliv928,

If you have expenses associated with some investment like real-estate, you can record these as negative distributed distributions. This will take the money out of your default cash account. The number of shares and value associated with your real-estate investment will not change. The negative distributions will factor into the performance of this investment though.

[oliv928]

why do u suggest to make an investment with value of 1$ ?
is it bad to make the value of the "share" vary, based on the real estate market, and keep the num of "shares" at 1 ?

[Mark]

Hi oliv928,

You could do it this way too. I find it easier to keep the share price fixed at $1, and vary the number of shares. For example, if you decide to add $1000 more to your investment it is easier to record a purchase of 1000 shares at $1/share instead of figuring out the fractional shares you would have to buy when you're adjusting the price to compensate for changes in value.