Rob’s Words Of Wisdom

Search

31
May, 2024

How Real Estate Professionals Log Their Time Effectively

 

A Real Estate Professional Time Log is crucial to earning professional status. Property Investment Pro Rob Rowsell invites his CPA to explain how to log time effectively. This way, the government knows you put in 750 hours each year to earn professional status.

Real Estate Professional time log - logging your time to earn certification

Real Estate Professional Time Log – How To Properly Log Your Time

Our caller Ken asked Rob’s CPA Kevin Bassett for tips on keeping up with his time as he pursues Real Estate Professional status. Kevin replied to this often answered question by first explaining audit requirements.

When auditing, your tax professional will require a real estate professional time log. This could be in the form of a written or printed calendar for the year, or an Excel Spreadsheet with your hours documented. These methods also apply when reporting your mileage for deduction. If you are a real estate professional, you must produce an organized time log, totaling at least 750 hours. Kevin feels that logging both your working hours and your vehicle mileage in the same document is the most efficient method.

Since the real estate profession is a tangible job involving being physically present, travel is a must. You will no doubt drive to properties in order to inspect them, meet with management companies, and sign agreements. Make sure you thoroughly document this time. If putting in the required hours, you likely won’t have time for any other jobs, so it should be easy.

Join Our Community

Do you own multi-family properties? If not, do you aspire to one day? Then you should consider joining our online discussion group, the ATL Inner Circle Community! Each month, Rob Rowsell will teach you what you must do in order to build wealth in the real estate business. It’s not as easy as it looks! Property taxes, liens, and legal fees can all be hard to navigate, so having a successful guide in your corner like Rob is a must! Sign up today!

24
May, 2024

Real Estate Investor Tax Tips: Can I Write Off My Vehicle?

 

Vehicle write-offs are crucial for real estate investors looking to save money on taxes. Listen to real estate expert Rob Rowsell’s personal CPA explain how to write off your vehicle expenses for maximum savings.

Vehicle Write-Offs - Rental Property Investors should write their expenses off properlyVehicle Write-Offs Tax Tips

Rob’s CPA Kevin Bassett starts off explaining that every business owner should look into vehicle write-offs. Whether you invest in real estate or you own another kind of business, you can write it off on your taxes. The only requirement is that you must use the car or truck for business purposes at least 50% of the time in order for your LLC or S-Corp to claim ownership. Otherwise, you must personally own it, and claim the standard mileage deduction, which is 67 cents per mile.

Kevin then moves on to review the 2023 vehicle depreciation rates. You can write off up to $20,200 of the cost of a regular car, including bonus depreciation. Vehicle write-offs for SUVs that weigh more than 6,000 lbs are eligible for up to $28,900 deduction. When writing off a truck over 6,000 lbs with a six foot bed, there is no limit to your write-off. This is not a recommendation to go buy a $100,000 truck at the end of the year, but if you need one, and your business profited enough, go for it.

Join Our Community

Do you own multi-family properties? If not, do you aspire to one day? Then you should consider joining our online discussion group, the ATL Inner Circle Community! Each month, Rob Rowsell will teach you what you must do in order to build wealth in the real estate business. It’s not as easy as it looks! Property taxes, liens, and legal fees can all be hard to navigate, so having a successful guide in your corner like Rob is a must! Sign up today!

17
May, 2024

Forming An LLC For Your Real Estate Business

 

Rob Rowsell’s personal CPA is here to explain why property investors should form a real estate investment LLC. There are so many tax advantages built into this method of incorporation. Limiting liabilities, using cost segregations, and other investor tax tricks are just a few advantages to forming a real estate investment LLC. Rob also adds a few tips, and reminds us that the government needs to know we spend at least 750 hours on our property business in order for them to consider us a real estate professional.

Benefits of Forming a Real Estate Investment LLCWhy Should Property Investors Form A Real Estate Investment LLC?

Rob’s CPA Kevin Bassett of Bassett and Associates joins the call. His first order of duty is to explain why we should form a real estate investment LLC. An LLC, or Limited Liability Corporation, is a great protection for your business, especially if you invest in multi-family rental properties.

One advantage of an LLC is the ability to use Cost Segregation. This strategy front loads your tax depreciation, but it only works if you have an LLC. Hire an inspector to come in and survey your apartments. If you have a $10 million complex, your inspector could break the units into components, possibly finding up to $2 million worth of accelerated depreciation. Fixtures, parking lots, and electrical items needing repair or updating. You can write this off right away, instead of over decades. This can wipe out some or all of a year’s income, saving you huge on taxes.

Kevin then lists other tax advantages to forming an LLC. These tax strategies include 1031 exchanges and long term capital gains rates, as well as installment sales.

Rob Rowsell Responds

Next, Rob adds the two reasons real estate investors should form entities. First, as we’ve discussed before, is for asset protection. Second, a Real Estate Investment LLC provides anonymity for you and your investors, if you set up your LLC to be managed by another party. This allows you to maximize your tax savings with the variety of deduction strategies Kevin mentioned. This benefit is available in many states, but not all, so consult your legal team and CPA before taking action.

Finally, Rob asked Kevin to outline the requirements one must complete in order to be recognized by the US government as a Real Estate Professional. We must verify that we spend 750 hours per year working in the industry. This means managing, acquiring property, and even long term holds. Construction contractors may also qualify for the real estate trades. In order to be certified, you also must prove that you spent more time working in real estate than any other trade. We discuss how to log these hours in another post.

Join Our Real Estate Investment Community

Do you own multi-family properties? If not, do you aspire to one day? Then you should consider joining our online discussion group, the ATL Inner Circle Community! Each month, Rob Rowsell will teach you what you must do in order to build wealth in the real estate business. It’s not as easy as it looks! Property taxes, liens, and legal fees can all be hard to navigate, so having a successful guide in your corner like Rob is a must! Sign up today!

12
May, 2024

A Proverb A Day

One of Rob Rowsell’s guests on our Inner Circle call was told by FOUR PEOPLE in the same day to read a Proverb a day in the Bible. Do you think God was trying to tell him something? If you want wisdom, do yourself a favor and crack open your Bible to the Book of Proverbs! Who knows what you’ll learn?

What can you learn from God when you read a Proverb a day?Why Read a Proverb a Day

Our friend David started off the clip admitting that he had hit an emotional low in recent weeks. Apparently, God was allowing him to experience hard times in order to get his attention. No less than four people in one week, including Rob, encouraged David to read a Proverb a day and meditate on it.

This should come as no surprise. David felt as if God was not speaking to him in his life. The challenges David experienced revealed to him that he was seeking God’s voice for selfish reasons. If you will recall, God gave King Solomon a choice of anything he wanted. Solomon could’ve chosen great wealth, but he chose wisdom. Because of that choice, God blessed him with greater wealth than anyone in history. Solomon’s writings, the Book of Proverbs, are a result of that wisdom.

Rob responded with his own experiences in hard headedness. God used no less than 50 people to persuade him to write Addicted to Life. When Rob finally relented, the Lord used the book to change countless people’s lives.

Join Our Community

Do you own multi-family properties? If not, do you aspire to one day? Then you should consider joining our online discussion group, the ATL Inner Circle Community! Each month, Rob Rowsell will teach you what you must do in order to build wealth in the real estate business. It’s not as easy as it looks! Property taxes, liens, and legal fees can all be hard to navigate, so having a successful guide in your corner like Rob is a must! Sign up today!

3
May, 2024

Brain Candy Videos vs. Live Learning Events

 

Rob soaks up knowledge any way he can get it. Which is a better method, though? Youtube Learning vs. Live Events – Youtube learning is convenient, but it’s easy to get distracted by “brain candy”. Sometimes you need the distraction, but it’s not always ideal. There’s something special about learning at conferences and live events.

Youtube learning - taking notes and watching videos online.Youtube Learning vs. Live Events

Our friend David followed up on a point Rob made earlier in the call about how easily we can waste our time scrolling social media. Before we know it, a half hour has gone by and we haven’t learned anything. Rob talked about unplugging every other day from online content. While the time spent decompressing with silly videos (“brain candy”) online is okay, it’s important that we prioritize time to learn. This includes Youtube learning.

Rob continued this thought, pointing out that we can’t live healthy lives just consuming candy. Our bodies need protein, carbohydrates, and fat to run properly. In much the same way, our minds need to consume more “nutritious” content in order to continue growing. Without healthy content for personal development, the brain candy will overtake our minds.

To contrast the Youtube learning method, Rob then espoused the merits of live events. When Rob attends conferences, he is energized by the other attendees. Everyone is at the event for the same purpose, and that encourages him to soak in the knowledge. Also, he mentioned the “barrier of entry” to these events. Events with free admission may not attract folks for the right reasons. When people pay their hard earned money to attend a live event, they are serious about learning all they can. Rob encouraged us that sometimes splurging for the VIP ticket to meet the guest of honor or receive other perks is often a good investment for your education dollars. Those experiences can be unique opportunities you may never get again.

Join Our Community

Do you own multi-family properties? If not, do you aspire to one day? Then you should consider joining our online discussion group, the ATL Inner Circle Community! Each month, Rob Rowsell will teach you what you must do in order to build wealth in the real estate business. It’s not as easy as it looks! Property taxes, liens, and legal fees can all be hard to navigate, so having a successful guide in your corner like Rob is a must! Sign up today!

Next Entries Previous Entries