All Forum Posts by: Alex Shipp

Can someone talk about the negatives of being an agent? Also, what does the income ramp up look like in the first 3 years? I know it all depends on how hard your work and who you know, but still would be curious to hear anecdotal evidence.

This is something i've been considering lately because I don't love my current job, but I think I would love working in real estate. However, it's a risky short term move for me as i would be giving up around $80K guaranteed salary to start something new where I might only make half of that in the first year.

How possible is it to make $80K in first year as a full-time agent. I've also considered working part-time as an agent for 6 months to a year to see if I really like it. 

I'm wondering if any current agents have made a similar move or if you have any helpful advice? 

Thanks!

This has probably been asked a million times, but I was wondering if anyone can tell me about how profitable or what kind of returns can you expect from buying and renting out a beach house. 

From what I've read, they aren't as profitable as residential rentals. Anyone have any experience with this? 

Congrats! This is actually super inspirational as a fellow young investor. I would really like to start flipping houses soon, but would love to have a mentor or something. 

Did you have someone take you under your wing and if so how did you approach them about helping you get started? 

Just curious for those that don't outsource property management, if anyone actually likes property managing? I only manage one unit just to save money, but it is no fun to me especially when tenant issues come up. 

Thanks for your replies. 

That's my fear is that some people may not trust non CPAs to do their taxes no matter how much experience and other relevant certifications they have. Personally, I'd probably rather an EA do my taxes, because their entire knowledge is in tax and most likely charge less than CPAs. 

Update: I paid to have all air ducts cleaned in the entire house. It ended up costing $350 after negotiating down from $550. 

My tenants were complaining a little bit too much and decided it wasn't worth the risk of losing them as my tenants when the lease was up. 

There's not a lot of info out there on enrolled agents, but they are just as qualified as CPAs to do taxes. They must pass a 3 part test that is created by by the IRS. 

I've been thinking about getting my EA certification because i'm personally interested in tax and it can save me money down the road by not hiring someone. Also, was thinking about maybe branching out and preparing tax returns for real estate investors.

My question is would any of you trust a non CPA such as an EA to do your taxes? 

Yes I was leaning towards not paying it, but I probably would rather keep my tenants happy. So the $500 I pay might be worth not messing up anything with tenants. 

Have tenants who claim they have breathing problems and requested the air ducts to be cleaned. I looked it up and there is no scientific evidence that cleaning air ducts improves air quality according to the EPA.

Air ducts is kind of in the grey area of whether it's regular maintenance or not. Should I say this isn't regular maintenance and refuse to pay for it, split the cost 50/50, or pay the whole cost?

Part of me thinks, I should pay for the whole cost just to maintain a good tenant relations. 

What would you do?