I bought a STR in 2021 and bought one of those real estate tax education packages that included a referral to a CPA that was supposed to be an expert in the strategies used (For an upgraded package of $600). I engaged with the CPA and he said it was $500 for a consultation and that would be applied to my filing for the year. I have never filed taxes except for a basic income from my wife and I's jobs. I've never even itemized. I told the CPA in a 10 minute call that I only had a couple questions as I didn't really even know where to start but would have more questions when filing. I told him to assume I knew nothing and I wanted to learn.

We are late filling, this part is on me as I just didn't have all my expenses consolidated and told them I was fine with being late. Once I engaged they send over some things to fill out. I started to get questions back but they were always one offs with no context instead of telling me the outcomes they were looking for which wasted a ton of time. Once I understood what they were trying to achieve I could provide the right materials. I pointed this out to him when he chastised me for what I was sending him. Him and his assistant kept referencing more billable hours but at this point nothing had happened except this cycle of confusion of sending an excel file back and forth because there was no context on why he was asking the questions he was asking. At this point, Im starting to feel taken advantage of and I wasn't learning anything. So I press them to explain what my original payment included vs what was provided and clarity on his hourly rate. 

He sent back an email from earlier in the year that included these nuggets. I should have caught this earlier.

Every client's fee is based on their unique situation.
I base my fees for any service provided on the following factors:

1. The complexity in providing the service

2. The amount of time required to provide the service

3. The death retained by the client because of my expertise

So basically, he can just completely make up a number not based on billable hours but on how much he thinks he saved me. Vs what, I have no idea. I replied that I also do billable work and have never seen something so vague on outcomes and cost. His response was to say that he would not be doing my taxes. I have no problem paying to learn and get something I needed done, but at this point this started to seem pretty scummy. 

Is this normal? If not, how can I find a CPA who knows how to maximize real estate tax savings but is ethical? How screwed am I if I try to just do them myself over the next few weeks starting from scratch? Again, I don't mind paying someone for their expertise but I don't think I've ever felt more like I was putting cash in a garbage disposal.