All Forum Posts by: Eric C.

Also remember that an offer is more than just price (faster closing, cash buyer, lease back, closing costs, etc.) in case you see a closed sale with a price lower than what your offer was.

@Gabriela Kroh HD can be cheaper than independent contractors if you are a bit savvy.  I used a 10% off coupon + paid in HD GCs which were purchased for 85% on the dollar on gift card reselling websites.  Also the cost of the carpet install is all inclusive at HD so if you have an abnormal amount of stairs (ie. a tri-level unit) then you will save a ton by not paying per stair.   I saved a total of 20% from the cheapest independent contractor I could find.  Plus after the job, I got the contact of the guy doing the work and used him on the side on another rental.  Good luck.

Sold 4/2013 for $170k and then 1/2018 for $122k and now after some reno listed for $209k.   How did the house value actually drop that much between 2013 and 2018?  Something is a bit off...

@Minh Nguyen Thanks for sharing your story.  I'm curious why your attorney stated that your case didn't have a 100% chance of winning.  Seems pretty cut and dry from the details you provided.  

For rent controlled properties in LA, the "relocation" fee for the tenant is $7900-$20450 depending on the circumstances.  I would hope that with non-rent controlled properties, the fee you paid would have been lower. 

@Matt Ward I'm just trying to provide a consumer view on this topic.  Problem with most of these types of discussions is that they heavily dominated by Accountants and CPAs who need to just their high fee structure.   Of course if you have a client who e-mails and calls you numerous times during the year and burns hours and hours of your time, they should pay a higher fee.  If they have a K1 and a bunch of 1099s with options trading or anything complex, they should pay more. 

I just think most people on here are overpaying for the services they receive based on the average type of REI return (W2 + few rentals). Most companies who "package deals" and charge a set price are not doing it to benefit the consumer. It's done to gain higher profit for the company. My company does the same thing (not RE related). That's why I think it's always beneficial is break down the services one is getting by hour. It's very easy to understand this metric and do a proper comparison.

Yes, the CPAs that post on BP generally have a higher level of understanding about REI, but I don't feel a standard scenario REI focused return should be considered complicated. I would have thought the requirements to obtain a CPA license would weed out anyone who couldn't prepare a standard REI focused tax return. By standard, I'm just referring to adding a new rental or completing a 1 property to 2 property 1031 exchange.

@Michael Plaks:  To clarify, the 2 CPAs I used were referrals from people on this forum, not active contributors as I prefer to work with local CPAs only. 

This is a classic FUD statement from CPAs that try to justify their high price for preparation. I would say 90% of people don't fall in a category where these numbers would even be possible. Most people seem to be stuck on the thought that they will get a better "product" by paying more.  Most of the time when someone says my new CPA saved me X, it's usually due to an egregious error from the previous CPA (ie. not taking depreciation).  It's pretty rare that the new CPA has some magic strategy that saves a person thousands of dollars.

My rule is thumb is not to go with the cheapest CPA, but also not to go with the most expensive.  In the end, a return that takes 2-3 hours max (ie. W2 + say 3 rentals with organized documentation + few 1099s) should cost no more than $600 ($200/hr is more than a fair rate).  This assumes that the CPA doesn't spend time "thinking and researching" about how to do certain things.  If I'm paying a professional, I'm assuming they should be able to fill in numbers in a spreadsheet then transfer to Schedule X without much thought.  I've had a CPA tell me they had to spend a few hours figure out how to do a 1031 exchange which boggled my mind.  I specifically asked if they had experience in a 1031 before hiring them.

@David T. Good luck with your search. I've done my fair share of research on CPAs and it's VERY difficult to find one where the pricing could be justified. I'm not sure how anyone can justify a return cost for $1000-$2000 with a W2 + a few rental properties. I would love to have one of "expert REI" CPAs have a look at my return to see if they can add any value. I've already gone through 3 CPAs and found mistakes in all of them. Some more serious than others. I got 2 of them as referrals on BP! I always worry that if I can find a mistake in my return, what other mistakes are there that I'm not aware of.