All Forum Posts by: Doug Kienzle

The question was asked for the reason most all of us are here, to learn.  I have been in the service industry for many years and one complaint, one bad review usually came from a person having a bad day.  If the same complaint comes from multiple people or one review has multiple people agreeing this was their experience, this usually means something is fundamentally wrong.

@JD Martin,

I am all for building people up and supporting small businesses (I have had multiple) but if you claim to be a tax strategist and are paid for that service, it should be that persons fiduciary responsibility to fulfill that service.

To answer your question, I had two other CPAs look over what Natalie prepared before I signed them for filing.  The issues the CPAs found and raised, a CPA should never make.  Which then I come to find out she isn't a CPA, she is a tax professional with an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), authorizing her to sign federal tax returns.

That leads me back to the strategy aspect, if she really did look over my taxes and was a strategist, the interest income I receive for selling one of my businesses shouldn't have all of the sudden change to ordinary income this year which subjected me to self employment tax.  Her lack of attention would have costed me over $10,000 in taxes.  What little tax I do know, I know that if you have rental income on a property, you need to file a return, she advised me that the return wasn't necessary.

Please refer to the posts by  and  as they had similar issues with no resolve.

I am glad you had a positive experience but a lot of my interactions with @Natalie Kolodij do not pass the sniff test.

Has anyone else had major issues with Natalie Kolodij Tax & Consulting?

For 2021 she didn't file all the necessary business taxes for my rentals in multiple states and six (6) days before my personal taxes were due she sent me an email stating she would not be able to complete my return by the deadline.  The kicker is that the reason she couldn't complete my taxes is because she booked a trip to go out of the country and didn't want to forgo the trip.  The taxes she did send to me for review were riddled with errors, which if filed were going to cause me to have a substantial tax bill.

She has posted a lot of BP but I can't find anyone praising her work.

Mario - Natalie Kolodij should be removed from BiggerPockets.

I am in the same boat as Kyle, she didn't follow through on anything she said she would do. She strung me along saying my taxes were being worked on but they were not.  I paid half her fee, had two phone calls with her during the year and then received the email stating that she couldn't finish my personal 2021 taxes six (6) days before they were do.  Quote "I'm flying out of the country tomorrow. I booked a flight last year before knowing how bad this tax season would be."  

She still hasn't filed my Oregon business return, quote "it looks like there are several local filings as well for the county and Portland.  This is something I haven't encountered before - many states don't require a filing when rentals generate a loss by default but it looks like Oregon still does.  I can get this generated but it's going to take me a bit and I'll likely consult with a local CPA to ensure it's set up correctly since it's so localized and I'm not likely to encounter it again."  I am still waiting...

It is to my understanding that she doesn't prepare the filings either, she has someone else do them and then signs off on them.  I don't think she is a CPA.  There were so many errors on my other business taxes she wanted to file, which after reviewing with another CPA, I made her change.  One example is that she wanted to classify interest income I receive due to a sale of my business as regular income which then subjected me to self-employment tax.  I have a coworker who used her and she was going to blow his 1031 exchange opportunity which was going to result in a five (5) figure tax bill.  She is reckless and I can't recommend her either...

Love Boise and Idaho! Seems like there are some good gems if you go searching. Would like to connect and chat sometime about the markets. Boise and the surrounding areas seem to be growing and expanding.

Would appreciate any feedback on a situation. Have two properties, both positive cash flow of $300 each for a total of $600 a month. Both are low maintenance and have had good tenants for the past 5 years. Have top rent on both in their respected Portland-Beaverton markets. Property A is in NW PDX, rents for $2,700 per month, has appreciated some and can rent fairly easily (desirable location). Property B is in Beaverton, rents for $1,700 a month, has doubled in price since purchased but takes longer to rent. Tenant in Property B just gave notice. Not sure how much more Property B will appreciate.

Thinking about selling Property B to pay off the note on Property A to increase cash flow to over $2,000 a month. By doing this, my portfolio would require less management, less hassle with tenants and increase cash flow considerably. 

Thoughts?

Going to build an ADU (800 total square feet) next to a house that has a basement and a second floor.

Question is, which costs more:

1) Building a second floor (roughly 400 sqft foundation and 400 sqft second floor).

Or

2) Build a basement (roughly 400 and 400 again).

I realize there are many factors (sewer slope in basement, soil removal, etc.), I was just curious about general cost (2nd floor wood vs basement concrete).

Any thoughts on the matter are greatly appreciated!

Jesse, Count me in! When and where? Best Regards, Doug

Matthew, Happy New Year and thank you for the reply. I appreciate the introduction to Daniel. I will look up his company and give him a call. I am not sure which avenue I am going to go. I bought this rental as a learning opportunity in a lot of areas. Hopefully I will find a GC to work with me. Once again I appreciate the response! Cheers, Doug

Just bought my first house rental in north Portland, Oregon. It needs some work, new roof, plumbing, electrical and I would like to add three bedrooms and a bathroom. I am looking for local contractors to help me out. I thought this would be a pretty good place to start. If anyone has some suggestions, I would appreciate it!