1st time meeting with CPA...

Coming this Thursday my partner and I have set up a meeting with a CPA for an hour. We have to pay $100 so we can pick his brain and if we like him he will tack the $100 onto his monthly/yearly fee. What questions can we ask him to know whether or not he is a good CPA? When I first initially spoke to him he insured me that what he knew was real estate and that is what he specializes in. I guess I’m afraid of not using the full hour knowing that we have to pay $100.00 for his time. So if there are any questions anybody would like to ask I can ask them for you and will post the answers up after the meeting!

What services does he provide? Tax prep or tax planning? Has he asked you about your situation and what you would like? He is the expert. It’s his job to evaluate your situation and provide ways to achieve your goals.

Many CPA generally do not charge for the first hr when a new client is prospecting them. But since he is charging you, ask important questions.

I would suggest going in with your questions written down and if you have financials about your properties, bring them so he can review them.

Also make sure you ask for at least 5 referrals that are investors and make sure at least 3 of them are seasoned investors who do alot of business in real estate investing.

thanks for your input guys

Ask him if he is a real estate investor, and how many investor clients he has. many cpa’s are not aware of many of the special rules revolving around RE.

How did the meeting go? Were you satisfied with the outcome of the interview?

The meeting went very well, he is willing to work with investors and specializes in real estate. Everything he said over the phone before the meeting seemed to be true. We made very useful time of the hour considering he charged us. We liked him a lot, we got along very well with him, and covered a lot of subjects.

I was reading something about Warren Buffet and how he screens people he does business with. He asks himself 3 questions does he like the person? Does he respect the person? And does he trust the person? I have been using the same screening system and it seems to work. He is now our CPA, so thanks to Mr. Buffet for that. I should’ve read that about Mr. Buffet before we met our attorney because he’s not working out for us. Thanks people.

-James

How much on average does a cpa charge annually to take care of your finances? Im in Ohio and am thinking about hiring one for my real estate business.