Red Flags - CPA and Attorney

[Patrick Burch]

I didn't want to start a post just asking for CPA or attorney recommendations but rather what are some red flags or bad experiences you might have had with these professionals along the way that I should look out for as I am vetting candidates?  Also, good experiences that you might have gone through after finding the right team members.  I have a list of some local CPAs as well as attorneys that have real estate listed as a specialty, along with every other industry on the drop down menu of their website.  My situation is this...  My friend and I have been establishing our list of contractors and private money lenders, reading every bigger pockets book, listening to podcasts, talking to other investors in our area and now finally after several months of preparation we are ready to sit down with some professionals to put our plan into place.  We are investing in the Wadsworth, Medina, Akron, areas of Ohio to start out because that is right in our backyard and they are good flip markets.  We also have some great rental markets right next door in Akron, Barberton, Rittman, etc...  We will be focusing on rehabs primarily first with the goal of building cash reserves and then funneling that cash into a residential rental portfolio.

[Timothy W.]

On attorneys, my best position was not having "an" attorney but having two.  A documents attorney and a fightin' attorney.  My documents attorney was about 117 years old, a consummate gentleman, very reasonably priced, walked to work and had been making these documents since Eisenhower.  He was a great source of info on doing things the proper way.  My fightin' attorney was mid 40s-50s, divorced, drove a BMW and had his main business in personal injury law.  He was a great source of chutzpah when I needed it.  "Attorney" is a license.  These two gentleman were two completely different types of craftsmen.

As to a CPA, I've found the best one by going on referrals from other business owners in my circle I know.  My guy is a solo operator that works out of an office that's a house zoned commercial.  I tend to pick my CPAs the same way I pick my documents attorney.  I like someone with a good half-century's experience on me who can tell me when I'm about to do something stupid.