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San Jose Real Estate Forum

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Jason Clark
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Jose, CA
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94
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Recommend CPA in San Jose/South Bay Area

Jason Clark
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Jose, CA
Posted Sep 15 2015, 09:55

Hi All,

As a new investor it's quite a bit intimidating jumping into the field without knowing much about the business. One of the first things I've been told now that I own rental property and am looking to purchase more is to consult with a CPA. Since I don't have any contacts in the RE world I've been left to find one via Google/Yelp. 

Recently I found Dunham Associates in San Jose and have an appt tomorrow. They are charging for the consult and I read recently here on BP that any good CPA does not charge for a consult. Like most things to a newbie investor conflicting information always makes things more confusing. 

Anyways, I thought I would toss the question out there if anybody could recommend a CPA they trust or use. Otherwise I'll take my chances with the luck of the Google draw and hope things work out well.

Thanks in advance.

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Jeff Tang
  • Alameda, CA
14
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69
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Jeff Tang
  • Alameda, CA
Replied Sep 15 2015, 10:47

He's a little further north of SJ, but Jino Joseph has been great for handling my wife's business financials, and our taxes.  I believe he also works/travels to SJ too.

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Steve B.
  • Sunnyvale, CA
12
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10
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Steve B.
  • Sunnyvale, CA
Replied Sep 15 2015, 10:52

Hi Jason,

I have not dealt with them personally, but I looked them up with the state board.  Their license is clear and they have not had any enforcement action taken against them.  Here is a link that may be helpful in looking for a CPA:  http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/consumers/slectcpa.shtml

Not sure what your specific questions or concerns may be, but you can find a lot of good information in the IRS tax publication here:  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p527.pdf

There are other publications that may be relevent (ie. Pub 946, How to Depreciate Property) that you can also find online and are listed on page 2 of Pub 527.

Depending on what your tolerance is for numbers and taxes, the info above may tell you what you need to know and save you some money.

Good luck,

Steve

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User Stats

94
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72
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Jason Clark
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Jose, CA
72
Votes |
94
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Jason Clark
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Jose, CA
Replied Sep 15 2015, 12:59

@Jeff Tang Thanks for the # to Jino. I did a Google search and it looks like he has a Santa Clara office. Thanks for the lead.

@Steve B. Great info Steve. I didn't even think to look them up. Thanks for checking into that for me. As for my tolerance for #'s, it's very low. I'm more brawn than brains thats for sure but I'm learning slowly. BP has been an amazing resource.

Thanks again Gents.

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Mark Nolan
Pro Member
  • Professional
  • Carlsbad, CA
1,377
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Mark Nolan
Pro Member
  • Professional
  • Carlsbad, CA
Replied Sep 15 2015, 19:41

@Jason Clark

Try doing a search for Ed Slott CPA as he has nationwide network of CPAs.

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Jeff Pollack
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Redwood City, CA
394
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272
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Jeff Pollack
  • Real Estate Investor
  • Redwood City, CA
Replied Sep 16 2015, 17:32

Hey @Jason Clark, check the meet up link in my signature and look at the August meeting info.  Michelle and Todd are pretty good.  Tell them I sent you.

Happy hunting!

Jeff

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Eric Z.
  • Hayward, CA
47
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90
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Eric Z.
  • Hayward, CA
Replied Oct 29 2015, 00:56

Not sure I agree with the whole good CPA doesnt charge thing. Good CPA value their time a lot more than others. 

Alpha Business Service in Fremont, they are EAs, but give good general tax advices(I paid them for consultation for my biz before)

I actually don't find talking to a CPA that useful unless they specialize in real estate tax. Most of CPAs are not specialized in real estate and are not tax strategy planners. 

User Stats

94
Posts
72
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Jason Clark
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Jose, CA
72
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94
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Jason Clark
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Jose, CA
Replied Nov 5 2015, 10:40

Hi Eric, thanks for the bump on the thread, I forgot to post an update. After I first posted this I met with Rick Dunham, he's the founder. I got a good impression from the meeting. He noted that he invests in RE as well so that was good. 

Im not sure if he is a strategy planner although he did say if I wanted to bring him the properties I was interested in he would run the numbers for me to decide if it was a good deal or not. Thankfully I have BP to help with that so I can run the numbers on my own and so far for two properties I have purchased this year they have been good deals.

Our 30 min scheduled meeting last 1 hour since we were talking so much about property, LLCs, taxes, family, crossfit, good chat. I'll use them in 2016.

Thanks.

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77
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Amir Navabpour
  • Investor
  • Campbell, CA
32
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77
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Amir Navabpour
  • Investor
  • Campbell, CA
Replied Dec 11 2016, 15:12

@Jason Clark Try Robert Hayes in Campbell.   Just met with him, and liked what I saw.

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26
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14
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James Piercy
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Austin, TX
14
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26
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James Piercy
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Austin, TX
Replied Oct 9 2017, 16:35

Hey @Jeff Pollack, if Michelle and Todd are still active, I would love to connect with them!  Thank you!