Question about Hiring a CPA

[Chris Reyes]

Hi there BiggerPockets Family!

I am in need in some advice. I'm in the market for hiring a CPA to do my taxes for the 1st time. 

Up to this point I was using a family member but have decided that it's time hire a professional that deals with RE portfolios. 

I have hired a bookkeeper in the beginning of the year to consolidate my financial statements. 

My portfolio is very small at the moment and consists of 1 SFR. However, I need to start developing systems for WHEN my REI portfolio grows and take advantage of the knowledge of tax savings with Rental Properties/Personal Income

My questions are: 

What do you ask/look for when interviewing potential CPAs?

Whats an average cost of a (small-time) CPA so i can determine if they are trying to charge an arm and a leg?

Any other advice is greatly appreciated! 

[Abby Weinstock]

Some questions to ask a potential CPA:

(1) First, confirm that their CPA license is active at www.cpaverify.org (select "Start Search")

(2) Find out if the person you are interviewing is going to be the person who will handle your account, or if the work is going to be farmed out to a lower level staff member (which means the hourly rate should be lower).

(3) Find out if the person has real estate specific experience.

(4) Ask probing questions about the person's workload to make sure that a smaller account is not going to fall by the wayside, with the CPA ending up needing to file for extensions.

(5) Ask the person for references from current clients that you can speak with.

(6) Check the public domain to make sure that there are no negative reviews.