All Forum Posts by: Kearan Tolles

@Kearan Tolles

Going where most homebuyer's go is important. Servicing your current database/sphere of influence is important. Reaching back out to friends, family & ensuring that you genuinely connect with them prior to talking about real estate is important. The business is a relationship business, where people do business with those they know, like & trust. Build up your knowledge, attend real estate related events & contribute on here.

I have coworkers that started off exclusively on here & they made servicing real estate investors their Niche by contributing to as much threads as possible. 

Help your coworkers. Host open houses, do any misc. work that they may have you can help them with in order to gain some leads.

Attend your local REIA's or smaller meetup's, there's so many people that are interested in real estate & real estate investing, that you can connect with a lot of new people. Go to neighborhood events, etc.

Door knocking & cold calling. Talk to your neighbors. Call expired, & withdrawn listings.

Hop on social media & produce relatable content. 

Most of these things are relatively low/no cost. Then more technical things may cost more money like mailers, website, paying for Ads, sponsorships, referral networks, etc.

@Kearan Tolles

Nice! Yeah if you are just fresh starting out, probably best to wait that way not spending a ton in consulting fees, business formation fees, etc. Becoming licensed is a very expensive process, and I think scaling correctly should be considered.

Not to say that those things are still important, because they are, I just wouldn't let that hold you back since it'll be more of a benefit later on.. Plus, never know if you'll like it or know how well you'll perform. The agent/realtor industry is very oversaturated... It's like everyone & their mom is a licensee haha. It'd very important to set yourself apart from the competition, but equally work well with others in the industry in order to help you succeed. I'd say prospecting for clientele is the most important activity to do, especially if you are not working elsewhere.

I'm a Realtor with an LLC and an SCorp. Like the above poster said, we pay taxes quarterly and payroll taxes quarterly too. Basically whatever my tax person says to do, I do. Every April, I feel like kissing them on the mouth. My advice is to find one in your area that specializes in real estate tax prep. Mine only does Realtors (we are in Portland, OR). Get a good one and get into the habit early of keeping everything organized and separate. Get MileIQ app immediately to track it all.

@Kearan Tolles, I’d always recommend consulting with the correct professionals for everything, as they’ll be able to help advise better after hearing your story, situation, goals, etc.

Usually most CPA’s will advise on doing it at the right time, that way it’s not costing you more if you haven’t met the general threshold of making it worth while. I’ve seen most opinions w/ crossing income/revenue limits like $40k. In general I’d ensure your revenue from sales is consistent prior to doing it & is still expected to grow. 

As a sole proprietor, you're still able to take most of the same tax deductions as a normal company, still obtain insurance for general liability & E&O, etc.

I wouldn’t let it hold you up from doing business, but there’s a time & place for everything. Scale when needed, don’t always have to have the perfect structure set up before to still make & save $. 

For asset protection, it still may be a good option to consider. Keeping your active business activity separate from your passive activity/business & personal life/assets is important because of inside & outside liability. Be weary of expensive programs & places that will charge a ton to help.

Curious on how much business your doing & if your doing any investing on side?

 @Kearan Tolles
     "hearing a lot about having to put money aside for taxes at the end of the year"

Actually NO. you are supposed to be paying quarterly tax estimates. You will pay penalties if you wait to file your taxes and then pay, Even if your return is filed on time.