I got this email all the time:
"With the state of the current real estate market, I'm thinking this is one of the best times to get into the game. I would like to set up a business (LLC) before I buy any property. If possible, could you provide me with contact information for the following?
- Real Estate Accountant
- Real Estate Lawyer
- Property Inspector"
If you have been thinking about this lately, here is my very opinionated answer:
1. You don't need a real estate accountant - there is no such thing. You need a local CPA, preferably in your city that will become, after a while, your best source of private investors. Interview couple of them and ask them if they have clients who invest in real estate whether commercial or residential. If they do then it is a fairly good bet that they are keeping up to date on the tax code changes that benefit you. If they start frowning about real estate investing (hard to believe but some of the old school ones do) - do yourself a favor and walk out. Find somebody who talks aggressive and you can click with, nurture the relationship with them and pretty soon they will send you a half a dozen private investors.
2. You don't need a lawyer specializing in real estate either unless you are putting together a multi-million dollar development or commercial deal and the due diligence package is 400 pages. You need a regular lawyer who will not kill you with hour rates. Real estate lawyers cost around $250 - $350 hour. Regular lawyer who can draw up contracts, private mortgages, private money documentation, LLC operating agreements only charge $75 to $100 per hour and they work fine for us. If you need a referral for that - let me know.
3. Property Inspector for metro Detroit area is John McAuliffe - great guy and several of my mentoring group members use him. His phone number is (248) 471-9800 and he is based out of Livonia.
