All Forum Posts by: Gregory Wilson

Jackie: Sorry for your loss. thank you for posting because others will learn from your mistake. The Google Maps image from that address search looks like this:

This is not what you want to see when you are looking for an apartment whether it is NY or Cincinnati. 

Not problem. You have a friend, He will rent it in its present condition as soon as you make it available to him for $90 per month.  You have two days to place the property in service.

I don't understand why anyone would want to buy into a tenants in common situation with a co-tenant.  I am open to learning something new.

Sorry I missed your post earlier.

Petitions for revaluation are filed only between 1/1 and 3/31 each year. By law, the most recent purchase price is the default value and it is impossible to overcome unless the property was destroyed after the recent purchase. That is why we conceal the purchase price whenever possible. Not easy to do with bank financing. Ask me off public to explain.

But, the point is, you are going to pay based on the purchase price.

I can tell you a lot more but don't expect it to help.

And if I need help with my debits and credits or my Turbo Tax input forms I'm sure to call a CPA.

Actually, I think you missed my point. There is a difference between delivering a baby and being pregnant.
The doctor delivers the baby. For some women, doctor is not required, they drop it in the field. But, still mom doesn't know squat about delivery. Only the doctors many of whom have never been pregnant know anything about delivery. On the other hand, the midwife or pregnancy nurse counsels the pregnant woman. And, I think most women would choose a midwife that has gone through pregnancy.
Like the OBGYN situation, there is a lot a CPA may not know about the rental business from debiting and crediting some journals and filling out line 242 on some Turbo Tax input form.

And, understanding the operating details of the rental business are just as different from preparing a tax return as being pregnant is from delivering a baby. 

Interestingly, attorneys are not permitted to offer services to strangers except by general advertising. Most jurisdictions have adopted ABA Model Rule 7.3 which makes it an ethical violation.

As for the reason some clients want CPA's who have real estate investments themselves, CPA's can be experts in all kinds of things but not in all things. A person who has spent his 2000 to 4000 minimum CPA practice hours doing foreign currency conversions at Deloitte for a Belgian energy company may not know the first thing about real estate or anything else. And, even if he has real estate clients, doing a tax return doesn't really educate one. Doctors who deliver babies learn how in their OBGYN rotation and midwives counseling pregnant women are mostly mothers themselves. So let's not be too hard on clients who want someone with hands on experience.

Commission on $1,000,000 sale @ .1% = $1,000.00
Suggested Tip                                        = $59,000.00

I'd like to suggest that you DIY this bookkeeping task. At least until you get 25 doors. It would not be challenging for a high school student (if we could ever get one of them to put their phone down). Moreover, you will learn more about your properties and your vendors.

With 3 rental properties, unless there are a lot of doors, you will have 100 checks per year. You might still be able to buy a nonsubscription, licensed and unused version of Quickbooks on Ebay, but even with the subscription it will only cost $1500 per year and you will be in control of not only the payments but also the check writing. It is beyond simple. And, at the end of the year you can email a backup file of QB to your tax preparer and he will give you the journal entries to post his corrections and depreciation.

A bookkeeper will charge $300 to $600 per month to write 10 checks and make a couple of deposits and complete a rental income spreadsheet or checklist to keep track of rental payments. And, you will have to make every decision anyway and also worry about her accuracy and honesty.