DBA or LLC for Construction Costs?

[Bridget Bardot]

My friend is buying her first real estate development project. She bought a tear down in Los Angeles and will be building two townhomes. Her accountant advised her to create an LLC once construction is complete for the sale and rental. She is going to create a DBA and buy liability insurance. Per the accountant, it's not worth paying for an LLC during construction because costs are not deductible; they go into the basis of the property. The DBA will be used for mortgage, property tax, office expenses, etc during construction.

Thoughts? Should she create an LLC from the beginning or is it OK how she's going about this.