Legalities of investing.. Is it as confusing/scary as it seems?

[Manda Gouvion]

I've wanted to get into real estate for years. However my actual research of the nitty gritty details of investing have just begun. Finally the stars (or should I say $) are aligning and it's now a real option for my husband and I so I recently came across biggerpockets.com, their YouTube channel, bought their book and started reading it today as well as looked at other sources of information. I have to admit, it was a lot more fun dreaming about investment properties than now discovering soooo many legal details that are honestly pretty dang daunting right now. It's not going to stop me by any means, but I'm wondering.... Am I overthinking things? We've owned a house before as a primary residence so I've been introduced to I guess some things but this just seems to be another world. The law intimidates me. How do you stay focused and not worried you'll screw something up with the IRS?

[Paul Moore]

@Manda Gouvion.  When I started in real estate, over two decades ago in 2000, I didn't give the legal stuff a thought. (It helped that I'd been an entrepreneur for 7 years already.)  By 2003, my tax situation was quite complicated to say the least. Dozens of flip houses, rental properties, land acquisitions, a non-profit organization, and a trust were among my endeavors. 

Then I got a random IRS audit. The audit consisted of one monthly meeting with the auditor for 5 months. Seriously. At the end, the IRS decided they disagreed with a $180 deduction I had taken. They disallowed it. (Of course I had about $2,500 in CPA bills!)  

The point I'm making is this: the legal/accounting stuff is a breeze. Just be sure you have good advisors. It's the least of your worries!  Good luck, Manda.