Cheaper and more user friendly cost segregation app

[Renjie Song]

Hi all,

Like many small landlords, I am trying to take advantage of cost segregation to increase my depreciation and further reduce tax liability.

However, a full-engineering approach is quite costly (easily over $3-4K per study for a small building). I have found some cheaper alternatives like KBKG and DIYcostseg online that still cost between $400 and $500, not including audit defense. They are taking a pure estimate approach with a survey and don't even ask very detailed questions (such as what appliances you have in the building). They do offer full engineering if IRS-audited.

I am thinking of creating an app that will charge significantly less (40% - 50% less) than the two sites above, with a potentially more detailed survey. The cost of the items in the building could be based on either a national cost database or an AI/machine learning prediction. The final report could be PDF, an excel file or presented in an online dashboard. The user can pay extra for audit defense (similar to premium service offered by KBKG and DIYcostseg) and we can back it up with a full-engineering study from an actual cost seg company.

The app will have a portal for each landlord, and each property will have its own dashboard similar to Stessa. The user will also have a subscription option. This would be good for long-term tracking in case they need to replace, repair or retire certain property. This functionality will make your life (and your accountant's life) a lot easier during tax prep time.

Down the road, the app will offer integration with accounting or PM software.

I want to see if people have any interest in using such an app, and what other features or problems you can think of. Any feedback is welcomed!

Renjie