Interviewing potential accountants. What questions to ask?

Question

Hi everyone! I am new to real estate investing (have bought many homes in the past but never for investing) but not new to business. I currently am a business owner and have had an accountant for years but with the introduction of real estate investing to my income, I am thinking it is time to start looking for an accountant that is geared in that direction. My question is pretty basic, what questions should I be asking when doing the initial consultation? I would be grateful if some of the more experience folks here would give me a list of questions I should be asking and what sort of answers I should be looking for. I know this sounds kind of dumb but I really am kind of lost when it comes to RE accounting, taxes and all that stuff!

My interests at this point are buy and hold (rentals) with the occasional renovation and flip. Thanks in advance for any help!

Arpan Patel · Answer

Some that I would ask are:

1) How many other real estate investors have you worked with? What are their strategies and how many deals are the processing

2) Are you also familiar with asset protection concepts? (I understand they are not an attorney but can they work with one to create the ideal set up for your business)

3) What types of structures would you recommend for my strategy of _________

4) What are your normal filling fees for these different structures?

5) Are there any odd rules or fees that I would incur with this strategy?

That's probably where I'd start. There is a tax book on BP that is pretty good and you can kinda see if your tax professional is familiar with the concepts in that book.

David Morris · Answer

Thanks for the help.