All Forum Posts by: Dominick Johnson

Thanks Vicki. I've contacted a couple accountants from that list, including Brandon (although he was not on that list). I've read Amanda and Matt's books and they are great! Looks like they only offer courses though, otherwise I would contact them.

Hi Simon, not sure what you mean. I've never heard of a tax strategist or accountant doing that, nor would I want them to. I manage my own properties.

Hello BP,

It is time for me to renew my contract with our tax strategist/financial advisor. We are upgrading our services to have them take over our accounting and book keeping as well. We are happy with their services and they helped us implement a lot of strategies to lower our taxable income and claim deductions. However, their fees seem high, so I’m curious what others are paying for these services. Their total fee for all financial advising and accounting services is $14,367 for the year. They paid for themselves last year by getting us a refund of $16k through an amended 2021 return that our current accountant did. 
I’m trying to decide if I should add their accounting services for that price or start looking for a new accountant again, which isn’t a fun process. Thanks. 

Sorry for your job loss, that's unfortunate. Sounds like you're in a good spot if you have enough in reserves to sustain for a year and side hustle income. If I was in this position, I would convert the SFH to a long term rental to make that cash flow. If the numbers don't work in that market to make it positive, I'd sell it and reinvest in something that cash flows locally so I could manage it myself.

Go to community college for two years on the cheap while you figure it out. You will need gen eds no matter what degree you pursue and it will transfer. You can work close to fulltime while in school and save. Use that time to learn everything you can about investing and get your real estate license. Even if you don't pursue being a realtor, you can be the buying or selling agent on all your own properties, saving you around 3%. You should have a better idea of what you want to do after being out of highschool for two years. This is the advice I will give my sons. Best of luck!

Sorry to be blunt, but your deal isn't going to happen due to financing. You wrote an offer without having financing in place first? A conventional loan is going to require a downpayment of 20% minimum, and if you have no money to put down you will have zero chance of getting a million dollar loan. Most hard money lenders require some money up front as well. Best of luck!

It won't effect appraisal value, however, it will be more difficult to sell than the exact same home on a cul-de-sac. As a general rule of thumb, I never buy a property that I would not feel my family would be safe living in. My first house was on a busy street and a drunk driver hit and totaled my car that was parked on the wide shoulder in front of my house. If that happens to a tenant they cant drive to work, have to buy a new car, stop paying rent, need to be evicted...avoid that.

Not unless you are comfortable with the litigation risk. Let's say he gets electrocuted during the install and dies. His family sues you. Now you have no tenant and lawyer fees, insurance deductible, etc. Much cheaper to hire an electrician yourself and pay for the install. As a good rule of thumb, never let your tenants do any work on your properties. You don't know what quality of work they (or the person they hire) will do, and you open yourself to all kinds of risks.

Depends on the type of debt. Consumer debt should make you feel anxious to pay it off. Debt that is making you income while someone else is paying it down should make you smile and want to do it more. Leveraging other people's money and paying minimal taxes is how the rich get richer.
To answer your question about what kind of loans, I started my real estate investing with a hard money loan to do a flip. Would not recommend doing that as your first investment. Then I got a HELOC on my primary residence and focused on buying rentals. Best of luck with your investment journey!

We put cameras in the windows in our flips and leave lights on in the interior and exterior. Also it helps if somebody is visibly present every day working.