I’m looking for a good cost segregation company for multifamily properties in Arizona, primarily in the Phoenix/Mesa area.
Would especially appreciate recommendations from investors who have actually used the company for multifamily properties.
A few things I care about:
Experience with multifamily / small apartment buildings
Reasonable pricing
Solid, defensible reports in case of an IRS audit
Familiarity with bonus depreciation and working with real estate investors/CPAs
Who have you used, and roughly how much did they charge?
Thanks!
v
I've done two cost segs in the last year or so and I really recommend RE Cost Seg - seemed to be cheaper than most, and have a solid process and importantly, after my CPA found a small issue in a changed purchase price that they were given incorrectly, immediately updated the report and sent it over a couple months after the fact (this is rare these days!)
I think the below link can get you 10% off too on your first one if you use them
Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
1mo
Hi Ying,
You should first connect and contact your CPA to see if the cost segregation study will be helpful to you and reduce your taxable income.
If your properties continue to be treated as passive and you have no gain, the additional depreciation may potentially not be helpful to you this year.
Many Cost segregation firms nowadays serve clients 'nationswide'.
If you get an onfield study, you will likely indirectly pay for a person to travel to your property. If you get a DIY / questionnaire / hybrid study, you will be answering questions on your computer and or providing photos / videos of your property.
Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 538 posts · 306 votes
1mo
Ying — I’d probably reverse the order a little.
Before choosing the cost seg company, I’d have your CPA model whether the study actually creates meaningful value for your specific tax situation. A technically great study that accelerates deductions you can’t efficiently use right now may not be nearly as valuable as it looks on the proposal.
Once the economics make sense, I’d care less about whether the firm is physically in Arizona and more about the quality of the actual study.
I’d ask each company:
Is this an engineering-based study or primarily questionnaire/software driven?
Who actually prepares and reviews the report?
How much multifamily work have they done at roughly my property size?
What documentation supports each reclassified component?
What happens if my CPA questions something in the report?
Will they revise errors without turning it into another billing event?
What support do they provide if the methodology is later questioned?
And can I see a redacted sample report before hiring them?
I’d also send the proposal and sample report to the CPA who is actually going to put the numbers on the return.
That last part matters. I don’t want the cost seg company saying, “Your CPA will handle that,” while the CPA says, “The cost seg company gave us the numbers.”
I want both sides comfortable with the methodology before the study is finalized.
And I wouldn’t optimize too aggressively around saving $1,000–$2,000 on the study itself. If the tax benefit is substantial, the important question isn’t whether the report was the cheapest.
It’s whether the report is accurate, supportable, and usable.
The cost segregation study is ultimately documentation for a tax position. I’d buy the documentation accordingly.
Real Estate Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2017 · 87 posts · 19 votes
4d
One thing I'd add from the practitioner side, since you're getting a lot of names but not many ways to compare them: "defensible" has a specific meaning, and you can check any provider against it.
The IRS Cost Segregation Audit Techniques Guide lays out what a quality study looks like — component-by-component cost substantiation with quantity takeoffs, engineering analysis specific to your property (not a generic square-foot allocation), the legal authorities supporting each classification, and documented credentials of who did the work. So when you ask each company for a redacted sample report, look for exactly those four things. A report that can't show its math at the component level is a report your CPA can't defend.
Two more things I'd check: whether the firm will walk through the asset schedule with your CPA before the return is filed (classification disagreements between engineer and CPA are where good studies go sideways), and whether they revise errors without turning it into another billing event — Michael covered these well; they're the most important questions on the list.
Not pitching anyone here — just how I'd evaluate any provider if I were in your seat.
Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 901 votes
4d
Before you pick a firm, I'd confirm with your CPA that a study will actually move your number this year. If the properties are still treated as passive and you don't have gain or passive income to absorb the deductions, the extra depreciation can end up sitting on the shelf rather than cutting your bill. The study is only worth what you can actually use.
On choosing a provider, plenty of firms work nationwide now, so Phoenix/Mesa isn't the constraint it used to be - just know what you're buying. A site visit means you're indirectly covering someone's travel, while a questionnaire or hybrid study means you're supplying the photos, video and answers yourself. Worth asking what they've done at your property size, what documentation backs each reclassified component, whether you can see a redacted sample report, whether they'll fix errors without a new invoice, and what support you get if the methodology is ever questioned.
One practical step: send the proposal and sample report to whoever is actually putting the numbers on your return, so the study firm and your CPA are aligned before it's finalized instead of pointing at each other later. And I wouldn't chase the last $1,000 or $2,000 of savings on the study itself if the benefit is meaningful - accurate and supportable matters more than cheapest. How this plays out depends on your facts, so check with your own CPA or tax advisor first.
Real Estate Consultant · Oceanside, CA · Member since 2026 · 9 posts · 1 vote
3d
Good question, and smart to prioritize defensibility over price. When you're vetting firms, a few things worth checking: make sure the study is engineering-based with an actual site visit (desktop-only reports are the ones that struggle under exam), ask whether they do a formal land valuation as part of the report, and ask to see a sample report before you commit so you can judge the documentation quality yourself. On pricing, most reputable firms will give you a fixed quote up front once they know the property details. If someone can't show you what the report contains before you pay, that's your answer