All Forum Posts by: Bryan Martin
Bryan Martin has started 1 posts and replied 174 times.
Post: Tax Preparation Advice
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
Quote from @Michael Plaks:
Let's define "cost-effective." I know you mean cheap, and $900 for a set of professionally prepared partnership returns, Federal and state, is super cheap already. Anybody who is willing to do it for less would have a question mark in my book as far as their competence and experience.
Your only other alternative is to self-prepare, paying about $200 for one of the many tax software choices. You will save a few hundreds, however next year, when you sell the property, you will not be able to avoid getting professional help. And whoever prepares your next return will very likely be unsatisfied with your initial one and will want to make corrections, negating your first-year savings.
Partnership with 6 partners should hire professionals and plan for the related costs, IMHO.
Post: Entry Level Aspiring Real Estate Investor
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
Quote from @Robert Atwood:
Hello Everyone,
I just started listening to the BiggerPockets podcast about 2 weeks ago and have listened to the 10 most recent episodes.
I'm currently reading Brandon turner's, "The book on rental property investing."
Been hearing so many great things about this Forum and want to start connecting with people around the area and take any tips one might have.
For some background, I'm 22, located in Churchville, NY (Rochester Area), living in an Appt with my girlfriend, working a W-2 job making between 55-65,000 a year before tax. I have a keen interest in the opportunities rental properties offer and would love to start conversing about how to enter the real estate realm properly. Please don't hesitate to reach out, I'm very curious and want to get a jump start on this journey!
Really looking forward to meeting new people and developing lifelong connections.
Post: Virtual Bookkeeping Recommendations?
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
Quote from @Matt Ten:
I'm looking for a virtual bookkeeper who is familiar with best practices with house flipping, multi-family and short term rentals. I currently use quickbooks but am interested in optimizing my process and offload some of the manual work that I've been doing. Any recommendations?
Post: Cash Flow and Paying Yourself
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
Quote from @Jake Chenoweth:
I’m not currently invested in real estate but I plan to dive in (I’ve been saying this for a few years now but I’m not really in a good place for investments especially what I want to invest in).
But I guess I might be a little confused on how “cash flow” works and how you use that money.
I guess I’ve always thought that you collect rent and basically just put it in your pocket (and obviously report that income you’ve made on your taxes at the end of the year). However, I know you need to set some aside for your expenses i.e taxes, mortgage, repairs etc.
But I've been thinking that if you create an LLC and put your properties in that business name you are now able to write off business expenses and are basically "living" of the business. You don't technically pay yourself, you just make "business purchases."
If anyone could please advise on this I would greatly appreciate it! I don’t wanna throw myself into something that I don’t have a good general idea on.
Thanks in advance!
You can take distributions from your business to your personal account and make contributions to your company from your personal account, but everything should be separate to keep clean financial records and those transactions should be tracked to avoid commingling.
Post: My first rental property
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
Quote from @Joseph M Segrue:
Investment Info:
Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.
Purchase price: $109,000
Cash invested: $109,000
Duplex. My first investment.
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
Didn't want to rent or buy a house at the time. So I bought this duplex. Two 2bedroom
Lessons learned? Challenges?
I learned the importance of screening tenants very quickly. Had problems from the get-go. I then went on the internet and taught myself how screen. What a difference after that!
Yep. Screening tenants backgrounds is like a first date. Doesn't guarantee anything about the person, but at least gives you an idea on if they meet some initial criteria.
Post: Same rental income reported on 2 different 1099-MISCs
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
The Property Managers are required to issue you a 1099 for the rental income that they pay you on behalf of the tenant.
Post: Limited depreciation study
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
It sounds like he means a cost segregation study. Yes, you can order it yourself from firms that specialize in these (they require many different facets from engineering to accounting to perform). I don't have any specific recommendations, but I'm sure if you search the forums for "Cost Segregation Study" something with recommendations will pop up.
Post: Deloitte vs Local CPA: Which Tax Service is Best for You?
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
It's hard to tell. In the end, it will likely depend on the individual accountant (or accountants) that work on your return and planning and their knowledge and talent in the specific areas of taxation that are of a benefit to you.
Post: Looking for a real estate accountant. What questions should I ask?
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
Quote from @Corey Duran:
I want someone who specializes in real estate taxes but it seems all accountants I talk to claim they can do real estate accounting as it is common. I own 13 rentals, do about 3 flips a year, and I am a real estate agent so pretty much everything tax-wise is in real estate.
Are the accountants correct?
Can most accountants do my taxes just fine?
How can I figure out which one might do better for my business?
Is there anything you can share that you wish you knew when choosing an accountant?
I have asked for recommendations from friends/investors I know personally and no one has been able to point me in the right direction so googling and calling is where I am..
Post: Looking for a Qualified Tax Professional
- Accountant
- Springfield, IL
- Posts 182
- Votes 98
Quote from @Mason Thomas:
Hello everyone,
I'm in the process of looking for a qualified tax professional who has experience dealing with real estate taxes and I am located in North Carolina. As a real estate investor, I want to make sure I'm taking advantage of all possible tax benefits while also ensuring I'm complying with all relevant regulations.
I've done some research online, but I'm having a hard time finding someone who really specializes in real estate tax. That's why I'm turning to this forum for help.
I appreciate any advice or recommendations you can offer. Thank you in advance!
Welcome! There’s a lot of talented CPAs on the forums here. I’d recommend reaching out to a few and seeing if there’s any you click with. At this point, most will be able to get you in, but if you wait much longer, I would expect to be put on extension.