How to Add a New Property¶

This guide shows you how to add a new investment property to the Real Estate Investor application.

Using the Django Admin Interface¶

Step 1: Access the Admin Panel¶

Navigate to http://localhost:8000/admin
Log in with your superuser credentials

Step 2: Navigate to Properties¶

Click on Properties in the CORE section
Click the Add Property button in the top-right corner

Step 3: Fill in Property Details¶

Enter the following required information:

User: Select the owner of this property
Address: Street address (e.g., "123 Main Street")
City: City name (e.g., "Portland")
State: State or province (e.g., "OR")
Zip code: Postal code (e.g., "97201")
Purchase price: Property acquisition cost (e.g., "350000.00")

Optional fields:

Purchase date: Date of acquisition
Sqft: Property square footage
Units: Number of rental units (defaults to 1)
Notes: Any additional information

Step 4: Save the Property¶

Click Save to create the property record.

Using the Django Shell¶

For programmatic property creation:

# Start the Django shell
python manage.py shell

# Import necessary models
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
from core.models import Property
from decimal import Decimal
from datetime import date

User = get_user_model()

# Get or create a user
user = User.objects.first()  # or create a new user

# Create a property
property = Property.objects.create(
    user=user,
    address="456 Oak Avenue",
    city="Seattle",
    state="WA",
    zip_code="98101",
    purchase_price=Decimal("425000.00"),
    purchase_date=date(2024, 1, 15),
    sqft=1800,
    units=1,
    notes="Single-family rental property"
)

print(f"Created property: {property}")

Using a Management Command (Bulk Import)¶

For importing multiple properties from a CSV file, see Import Bulk Data.

Next Steps¶

After adding a property:

Add Rental Income to track expected revenue
Add Operating Expenses to account for costs
Calculate Investment Metrics to analyze the property's performance

Validation Rules¶

The application enforces these validation rules:

Address is required and must be unique per user
Purchase price must be a positive decimal value
Units must be at least 1
All required fields must be filled before saving

Tips¶

Use consistent formatting for addresses to improve data quality
Enter purchase price as the total acquisition cost (including closing costs)
Update the purchase date for accurate IRR calculations
Use the notes field to track property-specific information like property managers or special conditions