Podcasts about cpas

Warnings about an “eviction tsunami” have yet to materialize. Extended moratoriums and rental assistance programs have delayed evictions in some areas, some housing experts had predicted 40 million evictions last fall. As reported by the news blog, fivethirtyeight.com, those experts are “still waiting.”Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Some renter protections are still in place or just now expiring in some states and jurisdictions, so an eviction surge could be looming in those areas. But housing experts had expected a U.S. eviction tsunami in September, after the national eviction moratorium was lifted. Although there's been an increase in evictions, it hasn't resulted in a tsunami, so far.Evictions at Low LevelsThe fivethirtyeight article cites information from a website called “Eviction Lab” which tracks eviction data that's been made public. That data doesn't cover the entire nation, but it shows that, as of October of last year, evictions in most parts of the country were 40% lower than an historical average, and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.So what's going on? It's difficult to know for sure, but there are various theories. Some housing experts think that some renters are still enjoying the benefits of the stimulus payments, extended unemployment insurance, and rental assistance programs, along with the moratoriums. There's also a theory that many “mom-and-pop landlords” have worked out deals with renters to avoid evictions. And there are some who feel that the eviction data just hasn't been very accurate. The fivethirtyeight authors believe it's probably a combination of those three, but there is no nationwide database to track that data. They say as many as one-third of U.S. counties don't publish an annual report on the number of evictions that make their way through courts. And then there are the so-called “informal evictions,” which are not tracked at all. That happens when landlords refuse to make repairs or abruptly change the locks on rental units. The blog suggests that informal evictions could be five times more common than the formal ones.Predictions Were Likely ExaggeratedDespite the lack of solid figures for the current status of U.S. evictions, the warning about a tsunami of 40 million evictions was very likely exaggerated, by a lot. That figure was largely based on something called the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey which asks Americans how confident they are in paying their rent, on a weekly basis. And then week-after-week, between 25 and 33% didn't think they'd make rent.That survey was used by the Aspen Institute and the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project to come up with projections about how many households were at risk. The figure was between 12.6 million and 17.3 million households or 30 to 40 million renters. That made for some big headlines and the passage of legislation for almost $50 billion dollars in rent assistance.The government hand-out probably protected a lot of renters. But as the fivethirtyeight blog points out, the legislation was probably “based on an overestimate” that was determined by renter confidence levels, and not facts. The Aspen researchers included responses from people with no confidence, a slight amount of confidence, and a moderate amount of confidence in being able to pay rent. Plus, they included not just the people who were already behind on the rent, but those who were up to date and just feeling worried.As the blog points out, while a third of the renters said they were not feeling very confident about paying rent, only 13.9 percent were both low on confidence AND behind on their rent. So how many renters were truly at risk? Fivethirtyeight calculated that number at 6 million households and 14 million renters. That's less than half of what Aspen had predicted, at the low end.The Aspen research grabbed the most headlines, but there were other estimates that came out a lot lower. The Urban Institute crunched the numbers from the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey but only included people who were already behind on their rent. That report determined that 10 million renters were at risk of eviction. The National Multifamily Housing Council estimates were also showing lower numbers, although that organization only covers multi-family.Single-Family EcosphereBut the single-family ecosphere also fared well. We were reporting on how well our affiliates were doing with rent collection during the pandemic. Our affiliate in Jacksonville, who renovates and manages a large number of single-family rentals, says he hasn't noticed a big surge in evictions. He attributes that to Florida's landlord and business-friendly environment.He says: “Since the outbreak of Covid, we have remained in one of the strongest rental markets I have experienced in 25 years as a professional landlord. Businesses, families, homeowners, and renters are moving to Florida because of these fundamentals which allows our state and real estate markets to continue to grow both on the equity and rental side of the business.”You can read more about this topic by following the links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.You can also join RealWealth, for free, to learn more about residential real estate investing in landlord and business-friendly markets. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke. Links:1 - https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-happened-to-the-eviction-tsunami/

So grateful for the opportunity to spend time deep diving with the Nightingale of empowering humans to greatness in Mindset and Financial success. Sharon Lechter is the Co-Author of the international bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad, and 14 other books in the Rich Dad series. With over 10 years as the co-founder and CEO, she built the empire into the world's leading personal finance brand. In 2008, she was asked by the Napoleon Hill Foundation to help re-energize the powerful teachings of Napoleon Hill just as the international economy was faltering. Sharon has released three bestselling books in cooperation with the Foundation, including Think and Grow Rich-Three Feet from Gold, Outwitting the Devil and her latest project, Think and Grow Rich for Women, released in June of 2014. She is also featured in the 2017 movie Think and Grow Rich: The Legacy and has released the book Save Wisely, Spend Happily in cooperation with the American Institute of CPAs. Sharon is a highly sought-after mentor and has worked with major brands like Disney and Time Warner and served two U.S. Presidents as an advisor on the topic of financial literacy. Now, Sharon is back and playing big again, and she wants you to as well with the Play Big Movement. It's time to shed the limitations that have stopped you in the past. It's time to play big, master your money and time and create maximum impact. ASSETS AND ADVERTISEMENTS: Website: sharonlechter.com Personal Success Equation: Complimentary Guidebook to help people discover their own personal success equation. personalsuccessequation.com Money Mastery Course: https://mm.sharonlechter.com ATM: (Abundance, Tips and Mentoring) DAILY DEPOSITS: https://atm.sharonlechter.com

If your aim is to work less and make more, there are many benefits to putting some prices on your website, without getting pigeonholed or committed to something that's not viable.   Highlights: — “Most buyers have some sense of what they want to pay. And if there's way too much daylight between your prices and their expectations, they're just not going to work with you.”  — “Putting some prices on your website makes the pricing part of your discovery conversation so much more comfortable for you.” — “Use high anchor prices to make your regular price seem less expensive by comparison.”  — “Having pricing for a single meeting helps the buyer infer what prices for other services you offer might roughly be.” — “Using the phrase “Starting at” allows you to set the floor on the price.” ***Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*** Subscribe here: https://www.shethinksbigcoaching.com/subscribe-main-list  

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending January 14th, 2022... what the Fed is saying about tighter monetary policy, the latest rise in consumer prices, and where mortgage rates are right now.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Economic NewsWe begin with economic news from this past week, and confirmation hearings for Fed Chief Jerome Powell. President Biden nominated him to continue in his role as the central bank's Chairman. Powell told the Senate Banking Committee that super low interest rates are no longer needed to prop up the economy, and that short-term rates should go higher to control inflation.The Fed has penciled in three rate hikes this year, but Powell says the central bank is prepared to do more, if necessary. It's a balancing act because hiking rates too much and too fast, could lead us into a recession, and job losses. But Powell believes that rates can go higher without hurting the job market. MarketWatch described his characterization of the process as a “soft landing” for the economy, and not a recession.Powell says that “if things develop as expected, we'll be normalizing policy, meaning we're going to end our asset purchases in March, meaning we'll be raising rates over the course of the year.” (1) (2)As it stands, consumer prices rose again in December. The government says they were up .5% in December to a 40-year high of almost 7%. When you strip out food and energy, the inflation rate was up .6% in December to 5.5%. As reported by MarketWatch, that figure is a 31-year high. (3)Those high prices contributed to a drop in consumer spending, along with the spread of the Omicron variant and the supply chain disruptions that are leaving some store shelves bare. The government says that retail sales figures were down 1.9% in December. Internet retailers, like Amazon, experienced the biggest declines. Those figures were down almost 9%. Sales fell about 7% for department stores, 5.5% at furniture stores, and almost 3% at places that sell electronics, like Best Buy. (4)The unemployment report surprised economists with an increase in initial state claims. They were up 23,000 to a total of 230,000. Continuing claims dropped significantly however. Almost 200,000 people stopped collecting checks last week, leaving just 1.56 million people on the unemployment list. (5)Consumers are feeling more pessimistic about the economy because of inflation and Covid. The University of Michigan reports that its consumer sentiment index fell a few points in January, to 68.8. That's the second-lowest reading in a decade. The lowest was a few months ago when it dropped to 67.4 in November. (6)Mortgage RatesMortgage rates rose by almost a quarter point last week. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was up 23 basis points to 3.45%. The 15-year was up 19 points to 2.62%. Freddie Mac says the rate increase was “driven by the prospect of a faster than expected tightening of monetary policy” by the Federal Reserve in response to inflation, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages. (7)In other news making headlines… Mortgage Delinquency RatesThe mortgage delinquency rate has returned to pre-pandemic levels. CoreLogic's Loan Performance Report shows that 3.8% of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days in October. That's only one-tenth of a percent higher than October of 2019. And the trend is expected to continue. (8)The report shows CoreLogic's chief economist, Frank Nothaft, says that loan modifications have helped lower the number of loans that are seriously delinquent. But he says they were still half a million higher in October than they were at the start of the pandemic in March.The drop in mortgage delinquencies has lowered the foreclosure inventory rate to its lowest level since 1999. CoreLogic says foreclosures are down in all 50 states, and expects them to drop further throughout the course of this year.Second-Home Demand Demand for vacation homes continues to rise. Redfin says it was 77% higher in December than it was before the pandemic due to new work flexibility and low mortgage rates. The second-home market is expected to remain strong, although higher interest rates could impact demand along with new second-home fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those will take effect on April 1st. (9)That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/powell-says-fed-can-cool-inflation-without-damaging-labor-market-11641918399?mod=economy-politics2 - https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/11/powell-says-rate-hikes-tighter-policy-will-be-needed-to-control-inflation.html3 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-consumer-price-index-11641993303?mod=economy-politics4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-u-s-retail-sales-11642166291?mod=economy-politics5 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-jump-to-highest-level-since-mid-november-11642081065?mod=economy-politics6 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-falls-in-january-due-to-omicron-and-inflation-worries-11642172660?mod=economic-report7 - http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/8 - https://www.housingwire.com/articles/mortgage-delinquency-rate-reaches-prepandemic-levels/9 - https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/01/07/second-home-demand-up-77-from-pre-pandemic-levels

Appearing on the show this week is Matthew Lincoln. Originally an Enrolled Agent, Matthew has recently acquired his CFP designation. This (and years of experience) has shown him the benefits of collaboration between advisors and accountants. Tune in as Steven and Matthew discuss the complimentary ways in which advisors and CPAs can add value for their clients.

“Your clients will like you better if you just show that you know them, and you're listening to them more than telling them how much you are an expert.” Tom Walden My guest today is Tom Walton. He earned his bachelor's degree in computer technology from Purdue University and an MBA was a finance minor from Indiana University. He's a CPA who's licensed in the state of Indiana. Tom is a member of the association of international certified professional accountants AICPA as well as the Indiana CPA society. He was the chair of the Indiana CPA society in 2019 and began to turn on the AICPA Board of Governors in 2021. Tom held accounting roles and unfortunate 500 company prior to coming to summit CPA group as a virtual CFO. At summit CPA group, Tom has been advising clients using the concepts developed by the firm and ton of the virtual CFO playbook course. Tom and his wife Cindy live in Indianapolis, Indiana, they have three grown children and two grandchildren. The biggest continual challenge working as a virtual CFO with clients, is not being with the client day to day, and therefore it is hard to know some of the backstories of what things are going on in their businesses. The other challenge has to do with managing time and how to get everything done for the clients. We have a playbook for other CPA firms who would like to offer virtual CFO services. We have a 15-module course that people can go through where we tell every single thing that we do. The aim is to help all the people who want to continue client advisor service as well as expand. We also have a one-hour meeting once a week with other CPA firms that can come in and ask questions about how we do things. Many firms want to step into being that advisor role but making that step to do it can be challenging, and so we're trying to help them on how they would get to doing that. The biggest challenges for CPA firms on taking this new revenue model include staffing and lack of technology pieces that aide a consistent process. A lot of it has to do with the fear of action to move, since CPAs are usually careful and want to be perfect. However, often we say just do one, and you'll learn so much by just sitting down with a prospective client. One of the skills missing currently that people could really build is the ability to do forecasting. Clients don't really want to come having you explain the history, rather they want someone to help them go where they want to go. If someone is really good at forecasting, that's where clients find the most value for a service. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: petermargaritis.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Freedom Formula for Physician Podcast!   HAVING A HEADACHE ABOUT SLASHING YOUR TAXES? Then this episode, I have someone who can give you tips on how to solve your tax problems. He is a gentleman who is a former Marine Corps sergeant who has 20 years of successful business op ownership, high level consulting, and he founded a company called Peak profit solutions where their goal is to help 1000s of individuals increase profit and permanently reduce their annual tax bill to better help them grow their business and accelerate their wealth. Please help me welcome Mark Myers to the show. Welcome, Mark.   In this Podcast, you will... A little background about Mark about where was he before being in California in his 20's (HINT: Listen about his Marine Corps Journey) How did his dad influence him in joining the Military? What made him decide to join the reserves? Mark narrate his experience during September 11th (911) How did he get into the tax world? Did he train for it? His insights about some common tax mistakes that people are making Gain more knowledge about Tax codes, Tax Preparers, Entities, Revenue, CPAs, Cash flow, and more. His advice for Physician who faces challenges to their taxes Resources Mentioned In This Podcast: Judge - Learned Hand Quotes Peak Profit Solutions   For all the show notes, and more, check out the podcast website at www.doctorfreedompodcast.com ----more--------more--------more---- Investment advice is only offered in jurisdictions where Centurion Financial Strategies, LLC (“Centurion”) is appropriately registered or exempt from registration. Our Form ADV Part 2 brochure can be obtained free of charge at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov by searching for our firm by name or its unique CRD number (316454). This podcast is not a solicitation to provide advisory services in any jurisdiction in which we are not appropriately registered or excluded from registration. The information, statements, and opinions contained in this podcast have been obtained from or are based upon information obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but we do not warrant or guarantee the timeliness or accuracy of any such information. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Opinions expressed by any guest are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the firm's views. You should carefully consider your unique financial circumstances and needs prior to making any investment in securities or purchasing any insurance products. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing in securities involves the risk of loss. Insurance products are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company and may be subject to restrictions, limitations, and early withdrawal fees which vary by issuer. You should consider the charges, risks, expenses, and investment objectives of any insurance products before entering a contract.

Lumber prices are surging once more. You might remember when they hit a staggering level last spring. They aren't back up to that level yet, but this new surge is, again, adding thousands of dollars onto the price of a new home and making homes that much less affordable.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.The National Association of Home Builders reports that lumber prices have almost tripled over the last four months. That's adding more than $18,600 to the price of an average new single-family home, and about $7,300 to the market value of a multi-family home. The multi-family price hike translates into about $67 dollars a month more that tenants have to pay in rent for a new apartment. (1)Lumber Price Look-BackThe lumber price roller coaster began at the start of the pandemic when sawmills shut down in step with the Covid lockdown. Back then, most people thought that the housing market would suffer as COVID spread, and that home construction would grind to a halt. But it was just the opposite.Housing demand began to soar and sawmills couldn't ramp back up fast enough. According to the NAHB: “The slow reaction by sawmills, combined with a massive uptick in demand from do-it-yourselfers and big box retailers during the pandemic resulted in lumber prices peaking at a record-shattering $1,500 per thousand board feet in May 2021, before beginning a gradual decline through late August.”The NAHB says lumber prices have gone back up 167% since August, to more than $1,000 per thousand board feet. But it isn't just a matter of saw mill response. The NAHB lists several reasons including supply chain disruptions, a doubling of tariffs on Canadian lumber imports, and an unusually damaging wildfire season in the Western U.S. and Canada.NAHB ResponseThe NAHB says it is working with the White House, Congress, and lumber producers to help resolve those issues, and bring prices back down to earth. NAHB actions include a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo last month about the doubling of Canadian lumber tariffs. It was signed by 84 members of Congress, and asked that the U.S. resume negotiations with Canada on a new trade agreement for lumber.It says the association leaders also met with Canadian officials at the embassy in Washington, D.C. to emphasize the need to restart negotiations. In early December, the NAHB sent a letter to President Biden in support of a new trade agreement. The NAHB would like to see immediate action in three areas. Those include: The removal of tariffs for lumber and other building materials such as steel and aluminum from China. The elimination of bottlenecks at seaports that are preventing the free flow of goods and materials. And, solutions to delays in transportation by trucks and trains. The NAHB says it's important to address the price issue for all construction materials, and not just lumber. It says the average price growth for home construction materials was about three times the rate of inflation in 2021.The situation isn't hurting builders. As the Wall Street Journal points out, they have no trouble raising prices to cover their costs. Layman's Lumber Guide analyst, Matt Layman, says: “They know they can pay $1,500 for two-by-fours. They didn't like it, but it didn't hurt them.” (2)Without the kind of intervention that the NAHB is advocating, analysts expect to see prices climbing higher through the winter as builders ramp up for the spring season. Many are loading up on as much lumber as they can for fear that prices will climb even further.If you want to learn more about what the NAHB is doing, and how you can express your opinion on what needs to be done, look for a link in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.You can also join RealWealth, for free. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://nahbnow.com/2022/01/latest-wave-of-rising-lumber-prices-adds-more-than-18600-to-the-price-of-a-new-home/2 -https://www.wsj.com/articles/sky-high-lumber-prices-are-back-11639842879

For those that are overwhelmed, confused and feel as those their heads are spinning when it comes to NFTS....  Thats how I feel when it comes to accounting and taxes.   With so much misinformation and in many cases the wild wild west feel of the web 3.0 arena of the metaverse, cryptocurrency, creator coins and NFTs it's no wonder the haters have so much to talk about.   For this episode I brought on Patrick Camuso, CPA who was the First CPA Firm To Accept Crypto to break down all things accounting and taxes and I really loved how open he was and his true knowledge of this space.   Asked a wide range of questions including:  Can we pay our accountant in ETH? Whare the best tools to track our taxes or should we be tracking them ourselves? What is a taxable event in the blockchain world? What should we be factoring in when it comes to airdrops like $GAS, $SOS, and the newest $WTF? What are some things we can do to make our CPAs ' lives easier during tax season? How do DAO's factor into this taxable event and business case? As we like to say on the show DYODR (Do Your Own Damn Research) I will also say Get Your Own Damn CPA but I think you will have an entirely new perspective on what to be thinking about when it comes to taxes and accounting for your crypto portfolio: NFT Project highlight: https://opensea.io/collection/womenrise Tools mentioned on the Podcast: CoinTracker.IO: https://www.cointracker.io/i/9oYphExjbmuy Zerion: https://zerion.io/ This was recorded on Twitter spaces so make sure to follow me on Twitter so you don't miss future live interviews at: https://www.twitter.com/isocialfanz Follow our Guest: Patrick Camuso:  https://camusocpa.com/ https://twitter.com/PatrickCamuso

Jake Mellor is an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) of Legacy Wealth Management, LLC which is a Registered Investment Advisory Firm (RIA). He's a business partner of mine, and he has a wealth of knowledge. He's had the great state of Utah, he trained CPAs. He's got an MBA, MACC, and is a certified financial planner.Jake has a well-rounded business, he has a menu of services. He started out having a wealth management firm, a tax firm, and two insurance agencies. He has been instrumental in coaching, teaching mentoring, accounting firms across the country, financial advisors across the country, and partner a lot with real estate professionals. A two-time president of the local chapter of NAIFA. Now since then, he has grown and been able to work very professionally with other professionals.In‌ ‌our‌ ‌conversation,‌ ‌we‌ ‌discussed:‌How Deferred Sales Trust helps people?What are the strategies for selling highly appreciated assets?How to grow business with DST?Connect with Jake Mellor:https://capitalgainstaxsolutions.com/deferred-sales-trust-made-simple-with-jake-mellor/Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Capital Gains Tax Solutions Community today:capitalgainstaxsolutions.comCapital Gains Tax Solutions FacebookCapital Gains Tax Solutions Twitter

Many CPAs struggle with pricing. Some have moved to flat rate or subscription pricing, and many still work by the hour. Subscription of course is a hot topic. But for many CPAs, that business model feels too far out of reach and too theoretical to be able to put it into play in their business anytime soon. But if they don't make the transition, they risk missing out.  Here today to talk with me about the subscription business model is my guest Mark Stiving. Mark is a pricing educator and advisor. He's the host of the Impact Pricing podcast and the author of Win Keep Grow, among other books. Mark helps companies win more business at higher prices. Highlights: — “To make the shift from the traditional transactional model to the subscription model, you have to figure out how you can add value to a customer on a regular basis.” — “A customer who frequently receives value from your product or your service is much more willing to offer to pay you as a subscription because they're paying you for the ongoing value they receive.” — “Accountants and CPAs who want to bring subscription into their business need to really understand what the stream of benefits could be beyond just the delivery of month-end deliverables.”  — “One of the big advantages of subscriptions is it's less expensive to get into and try a new service or a new product.” — “Accountants and other business owners need to talk to their customers on a regular basis and try to find out what problems they're dealing with, and what solutions they want.” Connect with MARK: Website: https://impactpricing.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com   Past Episodes: 125 Value and Segmented Pricing for CPAs https://www.businessstrategyforcpas.com/125   153 A Formula for Quantifying Value https://businessstrategyforcpas.com/153   Mark's Books: Win Keep Grow: How to Price and Package to Accelerate Your Subscription Business https://impactpricing.com/resources/books/   Impact Pricing: Your Blueprint for Driving Profits https://impactpricing.com/resources/books/   ***Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*** Subscribe here: https://www.shethinksbigcoaching.com/subscribe-main-list

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending January 8th, 2022... we'll look at the cost of buying vs. renting, new FHFA fees for jumbo loans and second homes, and the WeWork/WeLive founder's new focus on apartments.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Economic NewsWe begin with economic news from this past week. The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its December meeting with details about a more aggressive tapering plan and interest rate hikes. Fed officials plan to begin the tapering process after the first rate hike, which is generally expected to be in March. They are predicting the need for “three” quarter-percent rate hikes this year and another three next year. Possibly, two more after that. That would be a total of 2% if all eight rate hikes go into effect. (1)The number of people applying for state unemployment benefits rose last week, but it's still extremely low. The Labor Department says there were 207,000 initial claims. Continuing claims were also slightly higher. They rose 36,000 to 1.75 million which is still below pre-pandemic levels. (2)The U.S. unemployment rate is now “close” to pre-pandemic levels. It dropped to 3.9% in December from 4.2%. Before Covid struck the U.S., it was 3.5%. This is largely due to businesses offering incentives like signing bonuses, higher wages, and better benefits, to attract workers to a surplus of open positions. (3)The worker shortage has also given Americans more confidence in quitting jobs they don't like and finding better ones. This trend is showing up in the “quits rate” which represents the number of Americans quitting their jobs. The quits rate rose from 2.8% to 3% in November. That represents a 370,000 increase to a record 4.5 million. (4)Turning now to real estate, new numbers on construction spending show an increase. The Commerce Department says they are up .4% for November, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.63 trillion. When you break that down into sub-sectors, residential construction was up .4% while non-residential construction was flat and office construction was down 32.1%. (5)Mortgage RatesMortgage rates moved higher for the start of the new year. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 11 basis points to 3.22%. The 15-year was up 10 points to 2.43%. Freddie Mac's chief economist, Sam Khater says these rates are the highest since May of 2020. He says: “With higher inflation, promising economic growth and a tight labor market, we expect rates will continue to rise.” (6)In other news making headlines…Fees Rise for Larger Second-Home LoansThe FHFA is raising up front fees for second-home loans, and those that exceed conforming loan limits. Those fees could add close to another 4% onto the cost of a loan for a second home, and as much as .75% to the cost of a jumbo loan, if they are bought by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. (7)The National Association of Home Builders has come out against the fee. It says that a second-home loan of about $300,000 with a loan-to-value of 65% will cost an additional $4,875 because of that fee. NAHB chairman, Chuck Fowke, says: “With the nation in the midst of a housing affordability crisis and many more workers electing to telework, this is exactly the wrong time for federal regulators to be raising fees on homeownership and second homes.”The new fees take effect on April 1st.Buying vs. RentingIs it cheaper to rent or to buy? According to ATTOM Data Solutions, homeownership is still the better choice in most of the country. A new study shows that it's more affordable in 58% of the counties that were tracked by researchers. (8)The study compared median-priced homes to the average rent for a three-bedroom rental property in more than 1,000 counties. Researchers also looked at wages which have been rising slower than home prices but faster than rents. But that dynamic is changing.ATTOM's chief product officer, Todd Teta says: “The trend is slowly shifting toward renters, which could be a major force in easing price increases in 2022. Prices can only go up by so much more before renting becomes financially easier.”WeWork Founder Buying Up ApartmentsThe man who wanted to transform the work world when he co-founded “WeWork, is now working on a plan to “shake up the rental housing industry.” According to the Wall Street Journal and realtor.com, Adam Neumann has purchased more than 4,000 apartments in desirable real estate markets across the country. (9)He told the Journal: “Since the spring of 2020, we have been excited about multifamily apartment living in vibrant cities where a new generation of young people increasingly are choosing to live, the kind of cities that are redefining the future of living.” Neuman left WeWork in 2019, after raising more than $10 billion for the company. He also launched a shared-living network of buildings with rentable rooms called WeLive, but that was shut down when he left the company. The cities where he's purchased apartments include: Miami, Atlanta, Nashville, and Fort Lauderdale, among others.That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review! You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/05/fed-minutes-december-2021.html2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-unemployment-claims-rise-slightly-to-207-000-but-still-near-52-week-low-11641476186?mod=economy-politics3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-u-s-jobs-report-for-december-11641561153?mod=bnbh_mwarticle4 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/job-openings-tick-lower-in-november-11641309446?mod=economy-politics5 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/construction-spending-has-solid-gain-in-november-led-by-residential-building-11641222772?mod=economic-report6 - http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/7 -https://nahbnow.com/2022/01/fhfa-to-impose-hefty-upfront-fees-on-second-home-purchases/8 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/01/06/homeownership-still-more-affordable-than-renting9 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2022/01/06/wework-co-founder-seeks-apartment-empire

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending January 1st, 2022... investor hot spots for single-family homes, insurance premium price hikes, and Zillow's list of most popular search areas.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review. Economic NewsWe begin with economic news from the last week of 2021. The year closed with fewer people asking for unemployment benefits. Initial jobless claims were down to 198,000, which is close to a 50-year low. Continuing claims also dropped. Government figures show they were down by about 140,000 to 1.72 million people. The numbers reflect a labor shortage and companies that are not eager to lay anyone off because it might be difficult to replace them. According to MarketWatch, economists are predicting the labor shortage will continue in 2022, but will not be so pronounced. (1)Pending home sales for November were down for a third month in a row. The National Association of Realtors says they were down 2.2% from October. That's more than the .8% drop in pending home sales that MarketWatch had forecast. On a year-over-year basis, they were down 2.7%. NAR'S chief economist, Lawrence Yun, blames the dip on a tight supply of homes which continues to push home prices higher. He also expects to see higher inventory levels in 2022 which will help slow the price growth. (2)The latest report from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index shows an 18.4% year-over-year gain in home prices for October. The national index shows a 19.1% annual gain. Both are slightly “lower” than they were in September. But some cities are showing extremely strong price growth, such as Phoenix. Year-over-year home price growth there is 32.3%. Tampa and Miami are also very high due to the strong housing market in Florida. (3)Mortgage RatesMortgage rates moved slightly higher, but the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is still hovering slightly above the 3% level. Freddie Mac says it rose 6 basis points last week to 3.11%. The 15-year was up 3 points to 2.33%. (4) Freddie Mac's chief economist, Sam Khater, says: “Mortgage rates have been effectively moving sideways despite the increase in new Covid cases.” (5)In other news making headlines…Investors Want Single-Family HomesThe buying spree continues among investors who are snapping up single-family homes, and it's not just the more affordable areas they are interested in. According to CoreLogic, California is experiencing a rebound in single-family homes that are purchased by investors. (6)CoreLogic economist, Thomas Malone, says: “After a decade of moving away, investors are coming back to California.” He says: “The California rise is likely due to large investors, who seem less deterred by the high prices found in the area.”Those California metros include the Silicon Valley region and San Francisco in the North, and the Los Angeles area and the counties of Riverside and San Bernardino in the South. Other metros attracting investors are Atlanta, Phoenix, and the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission region of Texas down near the Southern tip of the state. Las Vegas, El Paso, Memphis and Salt Lake City are also attracting a large share of investors.Insurance Premiums Are ClimbingThe cost of homebuilding materials and climate change risks are turning into higher insurance premiums, and that's giving some property owners sticker shock. The Insurance Information Institute says that premiums are up about 4%, with an average annual premium of $1,400. Realtor.com reports a warning from insurance companies, that premiums will be going even higher. (7)Realtor.com says the cost of rebuilding a home is going up because of higher prices for building materials in general. But, it says, homeowners with the biggest increases are those in disaster-prone areas. Chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders, Robert Dietz, says that building material prices are pushed higher after a natural disaster for six to nine months, while people are, of course, scrambling to rebuild their homes.Most Searched for Real Estate in 2021 The rise of remote work has put a popular vacation area in the spotlight. According to page views on Zillow, South Lake Tahoe was the most popular city last year. Zillow says it catapulted into the number one position because of a high number of page views for each listing – about 5,500! (8)Calabasas in the Los Angeles area ranked as the most popular small town. But it isn't your typical small town. Calabasas is known for having many celebrity residents with homes that are valued at an average of $1.5 million. California's Big Bear Lake also attracted a lot of page views, which Zillow ranked as the most popular vacation town. Other hot spots include Newport, Oregon as the most popular beach town; Tempe, Arizona as the most popular college town; and Lavallette, New Jersey, as the most popular retirement community.That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review! You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-drop-to-198-000-and-stick-near-52-year-low-amid-labor-shortage-11640871335?mod=economic-report2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-slide-as-buyers-grow-more-cautious-11640790608?mod=economic-report3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-pace-of-home-price-growth-is-slowing-but-buyers-arent-catching-a-break-11640700715?mod=economic-report4 -http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/5 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/12/30/year-end-mortgage-rates-at-3116 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/12/27/investors-continue-buying-sprees7 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/12/28/homeowners-experience-sticker-shock-on-insurance-premiums8 -https://www.zillow.com/research/tahoe-zillow-most-popular-2021-30479/

On today's podcast I have my good friend Matt Bontrager on, who is my partner over at Truebooks. He has been with me the last three years helping me be more efficient in my taxes. We talk about what you can do this year in 2022 to make sure you are staying on track with your financial goals. It doesn't happen by just thinking about them at the end of the year or when you file taxes in April. we also talk about what it was like for Matt when he was starting Truebooks with me and how it was his first endeavor as an entrepreneur, how it was keeping his faith with his job while having a kid. I think a lot of people can relate to his story being an entrepreneur but still providing for their family. I think you can get a lot of value from that! We also talk about time management an how you need to understand what you are actually worth! it is a really podcast! Also, if you haven't heard, I just launched The Wealthy Way, where you can have access to my Wealthy Way course, planner, and discord community completely for free at https://thewealthyway.com. How I Started A CPA Firm With Matt Bontrager | Ep. 008 - https://youtu.be/Ho3r93kYlU4Join the Wealthy Way today and get access to my free course, planner, and discord community! https://wealthyway.com______________________________________________________For a free consultation with my team go to https://RyanPineda.comGo Subscribe to My Podcast "The Ryan Pineda Show" https://www.youtube.com/c/theryanpinedashowWant to invest in real estate deals with me? Go to https://pinedacapital.comWant to be coached by me? Apply at https://futureflipper.comLet my company make you passive income through E-commerce Automation! Watch the case study at http://lunarecom.comNeed Tax and Accounting help? Contact my CPA Firm! https://TrueBooksCPA.com/Follow me on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/ryanpinedashowhttps://www.tiktok.com/@ryanpinedahttps://www.twitter.com/ryanpinedashow______________________________________________________If you're just starting out and you want to market directly to sellers, I highly recommend using BatchLeads. We currently use them in our business to pull lists, stack lists, get phone numbers, text, and find property values. It is an amazing service that will help you get deals on any budget!Promo Code: HOMERUN for half off your first month. https://bit.ly/2E3LbtYOr you can get 500 texts and a 14 day free trial for $1. https://batchleads.io/homerun/Today we have our first ever repeat guest! This is a big occasion and I've got my partner from Truebooks here, Matt. Since it's the start of the year, I thought it was a good idea to discuss taxes. We have been growing this tax company for a few years now, and I've noticed that it we need a specific type of people for a tax company. Getting the tax company off the ground needs skilled professionals and the right team. Almost all of our employees are CPAs or sitting for the CPA exams. Matt is from Las Vegas and is a licensed CPA. He went to work with the Big Four to earn his stripes and has worked at a few smaller firms. He DMed me on Instagram when I was looking for a new accountant. I was in a tight spot as I had already gone through three accountants! At one of my company parties, Matt suggested that he get an office in my new office building, and we decided to just start a company instead! We were confident that the company would take off quickly, and we were right! Matt explains that our company is so fast moving that we can accomplish a project in 3-4 years, whereas other firms would span the same project in 8-10 years. Our entrepreneurial spirits definitely drive the growth of the company. Matt discusses of he was fearful in the beginning. He was taking a pay cut to join the company and, as a new company, there wasn't company hi

When I started investing in real estate, I didn't run into a lot of women on the job sites. And, I certainly didn't see very many women doing the renovation work themselves. But that's exactly how today's guest got started and her hard work has paid off because she's now a big-time real estate boss-lady. As a single mom, Kelly Stumphauzer bought a fixer upper for $46,000 and moved in with her three young kids. She was making about $13,000 at the time. Now, just a decade later, she runs a large renovation and property management company and has been featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for her success. She shares her story in this episode.If you'd like to learn more about how you can buy cash flowing rentals, go to realwealthshow.com and sign up, for free. As a member, you'll get access to the Investor Portal where you can see sample properties and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to subscribe to our podcast and leave a review! Thank you!

Dave McGuire sits down with Ben Worrell to discuss the importance of staying ahead of growth projects in order to secure valuable economic development incentives. Ben explains the role of leverage in the incentive process, and how CPAs can proactively discuss and identify incentive opportunities with clients.  Contact Ben. Explore our other resources.

2021 was a record-breaking year for housing and real estate. Redfin compiled a list of 10 housing records that we experienced last year. And some of these themes are expected to continue into 2022.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.It's been an unusual year to say the least. It was the second year of the pandemic and one where many Americans have changed where and how they live because of the COVID-19 and a surge in remote work. That has also changed the kind of homes they buy and rent.Redfin Chief Economist, Daryl Fairweather, says: “The ongoing pandemic, including its seismic effect on the U.S. economy and the way Americans live and work, has made 2021's housing market anything but typical.” He says: “Remote work, low mortgage rates, a shortage of building materials and wealth inequality that has allowed an influx of affluent Americans to buy vacation homes, to name just a few factors, have come together to create a historic year for real estate. Buyers paid more for homes, bought sooner than they planned, searched outside their hometowns or all of the above.” (1)Redfin's List of 2021 Housing RecordsLet's take a look at Redfin's list:1 - The national median home price hit an all-time high of $386,000 in June. That's a 24.4% year-over-year increase. Home prices have been going up all year, thanks to a lack of inventory and strong demand. Low mortgage rates have also helped fuel that price growth. Redfin says that home prices are higher than pre-pandemic levels in almost all parts of the nation.2 - Inventory levels hit a record low in June when there were just 1.38 million homes for sale. That was 23% lower year-over-year. The problem has gotten worse because of high demand, homeowners deciding to refinance at low rates instead of selling, and new construction that isn't keeping up with the need for homes.3 - Homes are selling more quickly than ever before. Redfin says the typical home spent just 15 days on the market in June and July. In June of 2020, the median number of days on the market was 39. Buyers have been snatching up homes as fast as they can. Many do so without seeing the homes in person.4 - Sellers were also taking advantage of the situation. More than 60% of them accepted offers within two weeks, which is an all-time high.5 - More than 56% of the sold homes went for more than the listing price. That's almost 30 percentage points higher than 2020, and a new record. Redfin says the average home sold for 2.6% over the list price. Almost three quarters of all Redfin agents say their buyers faced competition.6 - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage went as low as 2.65% in January. That's the lowest ever, and is one reason for the home-buying and refinancing frenzy that we've been seeing.7 - Investors have been busy buying almost one out of every five homes on the market. That's 18.2% of the purchased homes and 11.2% more than the year before. Total dollars spent by investors was a record $63.6 billion in the third quarter compared to $35.7 billion during Q3 2020.8 - Demand has almost doubled for second homes. It was up 91% in January, mostly due to a surge in remote work. Instead of working at home, employees have been enjoying their work hours at beach homes and mountain cabins.9 - Almost a third of Americans wanted to move to a new city this last year, thanks to remote work and the ability to work from wherever. Many workers left expensive cities in search of more affordable areas.10 - Luxury home prices hit new records. The median sale price for a top tier home was 25.8% higher year-over-year, or a little over a million dollars. Mid-priced home were up 16% and affordable homes were up 13.2%.This data is food for thought as we head into the new year, and start mapping out our investing strategy. Mortgage rates are expected to move higher which will slow down price growth a bit. But home buyer demand is expected to remain high along with supply chain issues that are interfering with home construction. And for those who can't buy a home, they will very likely be looking for a single-family rental so they can live like a homeowner.One economist, Logan Mohtashami, lead analyst for Housing Wire, actually believes rates could decrease in 2022. To find out why, I've invited him to be my guest on my 2022 Housing Forecast this Thursday. You can sign up for that at newsforinvestors.com. It's free to join and then you'll get access. I interviewed Logan on my other podcast last Spring, and based on the great reviews, I'd say you won't want to miss this webinar. He's been eerily accurate with his predictions, which have often been the exact opposite of what you see in headline news. Again, you can sign up for the free webinar at newsforinvestors.com. You can also join RealWealth, for free. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review! Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 - https://www.worldpropertyjournal.com/real-estate-news/united-states/seattle/real-estate-news-top-10-housing-trends-of-2021-redfin-2021-housing-data-housing-records-set-in-2021-daryl-fairweather-12865.php

Michelle and Dan are joined by Jason Richelson from Bookkeep to discus the Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Accounting Integrations.QB Power Hour is a free, biweekly webinar series for accountants, ProAdvisors, CPAs, bookkeepers and QuickBooks consultants presented by Michelle Long, CPA and Dan DeLong who are very passionate about the industry, QuickBooks and apps that integrate with QuickBooks.Watch or listen to all of the QB Power Hours at https://www.qbpowerhour.com/blogRegister for upcoming webinars at https://www.qbpowerhour.com/

Some people get stuck in analysis paralysis, meaning no matter how much they study, they just can't take the plunge. Meanwhile, others jump right in. In this episode, you'll hear from someone who couldn't wait to get started in real estate, so he made his first acquisition while he was in high school!Kyle Nott wasted no time. He attended what he calls “Windshield University” to educate himself about real estate. That's the time he's spent driving from one construction job site to another listening to podcasts, and learning from other investors. And here he is now, educating others on my podcast. He shares the ups and downs of his journey in this interview, which is both inspirational and educational.Thank you for joining me here on the Real Wealth show. I want to let you know I'm giving my 2022 Housing Forecast during the first week of January. If you want to get my take on where real estate is headed, considering that rate hikes are on the way, just visit realwealthshow.com. You can join for free and get access to the upcoming webinar, or the replay, along with recordings of all our past webinars. You'll also have access to the Investor Portal where you can see sample properties and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to subscribe to our podcast and leave a review! Thank you!

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending December 25th, 2021... why consumers are feeling optimistic about the economy, the latest surge in home sales, and which investors are getting a nice pay raise.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Economic NewsWe begin with economic news from this past week and a busy Christmas holiday. There's now just one week left to the year, and economists say the economy is showing signs of strength despite the current COVID-19 surge. Last week, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits held steady at just over 200,000 applications. That's below pre-pandemic levels, which were averaging about 220,000 per week. The number of people already collecting checks shrank a bit, to 1.86 million, which is slightly higher than the pre-pandemic level of 1.7 million.Although the holidays could be skewing those numbers somewhat, Rubella Farooqi of High Frequency Economics feels they are heading in a good direction. She said in a MarketWatch report: “The data can be noisy during the holidays, but filings continue to trend down on strong demand for workers amid a labor shortage. The risk now is from new virus variants which are forcing businesses to voluntarily close in response to rising infections.” (1)November ended with an inflation rate of 5.7%, as the nation deals with the Covid-19 Omicron variant. That's up from 5% in October and the highest level we've seen since last summer when the Delta variant was surging. (2) But inflation doesn't appear to be impacting consumer confidence this time around. Consumer spending rose .6% in November (3) and the Conference Board's index was up several points for December.Conference Board President, Steve Odland, says consumers may feel less concern at this point, because it appears the Omicron variant is not as dangerous as Delta. He said on CNBC's Power Lunch last week: “Part of that may be simple Covid fatigue… but also Omicron is less lethal than prior versions and I think that's giving people more confidence all the way around.” (4) Real estate continues to be one of the strongest parts of the economy. New home sales hit a seven-month high in November. They were up 12.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 744,000. That's up from 662,000 in October, although that was heavily revised from about the same number we're currently getting for November. So the November number could change. But economists say the housing sector is strong with a median sales price of $417,000. That's a new record high. They are also expecting price growth to slow when the Fed starts raising interest rates next year, to control inflation. (5) Existing home sales were also strong in November. The National Association of Realtors says they were up 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million. That's a 10-month high, and the third month in a row that they've increased, despite the inventory issue. NAR says inventory levels were down 13% compared to November of last year, but surveys done by Redfin.com show a rise in the number of homeowners planning to sell in the early part of next year. (6)Mortgage RatesAnd homebuyers can still get a screamingly good mortgage rate. Freddie Mac says the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down 7 basis points last week to 3.05%. The 15-year was down 4 basis points to 2.3%. (7)In other news making headlines…Single-Family Rental Rates Rent growth for single-family homes is turning into a generous pay raise for investors. The latest report from CoreLogic shows that rent levels were up 10.9% year-over-year in October and that vacancy rates are at 25-year lows. (8) CoreLogic economist, Molly Boesel, says it's the sixth month in a row that rent growth has hit a new high for single-family homes. She says it's rising in lock-step with higher home prices, and that: “Rent growth this October was more than three times that of a year earlier.” And last year was a good year because of the Covid migration to the suburbs and single-family homes.The metros showing the highest growth rates are Miami with a 29.7% year-over-year increase, Phoenix with a 19.3% increase, and Las Vegas with a 16.5% increase. The best rent growth has also been for higher-priced rentals. 2022 Homebuyer StrategiesHigh home prices have left many wannabee homebuyers in the rental market, but realtor.com says they are optimistic about their ability to buy a home in the coming year. The survey shows that more than a quarter of those shoppers were unable to buy a home and that many are planning new strategies for 2022. (9)Among those strategies are plans to make all-cash offers or larger down payments if possible, making offers above the asking price, and writing home seller love letters which are currently frowned upon and illegal in the state of Oregon. 22% of those surveyed say they plan on going over their budget for a home, and 13% plan to make an offer on a home they haven't seen in person.That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review! You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/first-time-jobless-claims-unchanged-at-205-000-in-week-ended-dec-18-11640266598?mod=economic-report2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-latest-read-on-the-feds-favorite-inflation-gauge-11640265116?mod=economic-report3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-latest-read-on-the-feds-favorite-inflation-gauge-11640265116?mod=economic-report4 -https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/12/22/the-conference-board-survey-shows-inflation-concerns-down-from-13-year-high.html5 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-surge-in-november-11640272086?mod=mw_latestnews6 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/existing-home-sales-rise-for-third-straight-month-in-november-11640185309?mod=bnbh_mwarticle7 -http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/8 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/12/21/rental-rates-for-single-family-homes-triple-from-20209 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/12/20/first-timers-reevaluate-devise-plan-to-compete-in-2022

Susan Tillery, CPA/PFS and Dave Stolz, CPA/PFS wish you a happy and prosperous New Year and share what is on their minds as they head into 2022 in this episode of the PFP Section podcast.  As they serve in the last months of their successful tenures as chairs of the PFP Executive Committee and PFS Credential Committee, they share their vision for the CPA financial planning profession and the important milestones that have been achieved in alignment to this vision over the last few years. They discuss what volunteering has meant to them professionally and personally and the many ways you can get involved to build relationships with your peers and forward the mission of CPA financial planners. Susan and Dave learn they are on the same page with what they are focusing on with their clients in 2022 and it may inspire you to do the same! Access resources related to this podcast: Note: If you're using a podcast app that does not hyperlink to the resources, visit http://pfplanning.libsyn.com/ to access show notes with direct links.   Attend 2022 Best Planning Ideas for Your Clients and Your Business with a panel of CPA financial planners virtually on January 19th (free with CPE for PFP/PFS members). Learn about the CPA exclusive PFS credential and the new pathway for experienced CPAs. Find out about CPA evolution and the new exam that will launch in 2024. Access the resources available to you as a PFP Section member and PFS credential holder.   This episode is brought to you by the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Section, the premier provider of information, tools, advocacy and guidance for professionals who specialize in providing tax, estate, retirement, risk management and investment planning advice. Also, by the CPA/PFS credential program, which allows CPAs to demonstrate competence and confidence in providing these services to their clients. Visit us online at www.aicpa.org/pfp to join our community, gain access to valuable member-only benefits or learn about our PFP certificate program. Subscribe to the PFP Podcast channel at Libsyn to find all the latest episodes or search “AICPA Personal Financial Planning” on your favorite podcast app.

Traditionally, CPAs excel with numbers, not words. In today's polarized society conversations can quickly become challenging and impede productivity. In this episode, Jackie Stavros & Cheri Torres join Tom to help us discover how to create productive conversations with our clients and employees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Mike White is Principal at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), the 8th largest CPA and consultancy firm in the country. They focus on dentists and physicians, DSOs, Med Spas, Veterinarians, orthopedics, and opthamologists. When most people think of CPAs they think of filing their taxes, but they would be remised. Mike and his team help turn accounting from a backward looking perspective to a forward looking indicator with their unique set of dashboard tools.  Podcast recommendations: Tim Ferris, DSO Secrets, and a few crime podcasts that pop up,Book recommendations: EOS, Traction, Who moved my Cheese Reach out mike.white@claconnect.com 469-974-6693If you need help finding the perfect location or your ready to invest in commercial real estate, email us at podcast@leadersre.com. Sign up for a FREE vulnerability analysis and lease renewal services View our library on apple podcasts or REUniversity.org.Connect on Facebook. Commercial Real Estate Secrets is ranked in the top 50 podcasts on real estate 

Solar advocates are sounding the alarm on proposed changes to California's rooftop solar program. The changes would reduce the savings that solar customers enjoy, and potentially add a new monthly fee to connect to the grid. Regulators say reforms are necessary because non-solar customers are paying too much to maintain the grid, but solar supporters say the changes will discourage people from installing solar and make it difficult to meet California's green energy goals.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.The California Public Utilities Commission released the proposal on Monday, December 13th. (1) There's a long list of changes that include a reduction in the discount consumers would get for installing a solar system. That would increase the amount of time it takes to recoup the cost of the system. The break even window would expand to about double what it is now or about ten years.New Fees, Reduced Sell-Back AmountsThe proposal also includes a monthly Grid Participation Charge of $8 per kilowatt of installed solar. If you have an 8 kW system, for example, you'd be paying an extra $64 a month to hook up to the grid. The fee would be imposed on solar customers so they could pay their “fair share of the cost of maintaining the grid.”New solar customers would also get paid a lower amount for any excess electricity they produce and sell back to the utilities. That wouldn't impact existing customers right away. They'd be able to continue with their existing rate structure for the first 15 years of their system. After that, they would transition from net metering to net billing which pays less for any excess energy produced.Net billing has been highly criticized as a disincentive for solar adoption because many consumers have relied on the money they get from producing excess electricity to help pay for their systems. Solar costs have come down but for many people, solar is still too expensive.Incentives for Residential Storage BatteriesRegulators are hoping the new rules will encourage the installation of residential storage batteries so that solar customers can keep the excess energy they produce, and use it during peak hours in the evening. Peak hours are between 6 and 9pm.If solar homes are getting a wholesale price for the excess energy they produce during the day, and are charged full price for energy they need during the evening, they end up paying the difference. If they install a storage battery, there's no extra cost. Regulators say much of this proposal is to address the strain on the grid during those peak hours, after the sun goes down.Long List of ChangesThere are several other items that the CPUC is proposing that include an Equity Fund to help provide community solar in low-income and disadvantaged communities, new rules that would allow oversized residential solar systems to accommodate future needs for vehicle and appliance charging and electrification, and a change in the way that solar customers are billed from yearly to monthly, possibly because of that proposed monthly grid participation fee.The state's three main utilities support the proposed changes. Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison, along with the CPUC, say the savings that solar customers are currently getting are so big that they are not paying their fair share of the grid's operating costs. The solar industry and advocates say the changes will make it difficult for California to reach a goal for zero-carbon emissions by 2045.Will This Hamper Clean Energy Goals?Susannah Churchill for Vote Solar told the Associated Press that the proposal will “move us backward on clean energy and block many Californians' ability to help make our grid more resilient to climate change.” (2) The rooftop solar program was launched in 1995 to encourage more people to “go solar.” According to the solar industry, 1.3 million California homes now have solar. That's more than any other state in the U.S. Plus, a California law enacted last year, requires that all new homes have solar.The CPUC changes would be phased in over four years for new customers, but if they take advantage of a $3,200 discount on a residential storage system, they'd transition into the new rate structure right away, which pays less for the excess energy that's produced. But they'd get that big discount on an energy storage system.CPUC Commissioner Guzman Aceves says this proposal is all about distributing the cost of maintaining the grid in a way that doesn't unfairly impact non-solar customers, and transitioning to a solar system that uses the sun to produce electricity during the day, to one that can also produce electricity after the sun goes down. That can be done if more people install storage batteries.The CPUC is taking public comment on this proposal and could vote on it by the end next month. If it's approved, the new policy would take effect four months after a final decision.If you'd like to read more about this topic and how you can submit comments to the CPUC, you'll find links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.You can also join RealWealth, for free. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-proposal-aims-to-modernize-state-decarbonization-incentive-efforts2 -https://apnews.com/article/science-business-environment-and-nature-california-utilities-1bc5070157e0fb4f0c216f8b1dd1daee

Lyle Benson credits much of his career as a CPA financial planner to his interactions with colleagues across the country. He wanted CPAs in all stages of their career to be able to benefit from hearing how fellow CPA financial planners have gotten to where they are now, how they work with clients, and what it has meant for their lives. In episode two of this PFP Section podcast series, Lyle interviews Michael Goodman, CPA/PFS. They discuss: How Michael brought his love for business and working with people to where he is today How he made the conscious decision to go from a lifestyle practice to an enterprise Why just doing it, making mistakes, and learning along the way has been a key to success What he did to keep a wonderful culture and a team that feels valued during the pandemic What the AICPA PFP community has meant for him, what sets CPA financial planners apart, and his predictions for the future Access resources related to this podcast: Note: If you're using a podcast app that does not hyperlink to the resources, visit http://pfplanning.libsyn.com/ to access show notes with direct links.   Find the 1st episode in this series featuring Lyle Benson as the interviewee. Attend 2022 Best Planning Ideas for Your Clients and Your Business with Lyle, Michael, and others virtually on January 19th (free with CPE for PFP/PFS members). Find resources to help you help your clients through the AICPA's PFP Section. Learn about the CPA exclusive PFS credential.   This episode is brought to you by the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Section, the premier provider of information, tools, advocacy and guidance for professionals who specialize in providing tax, estate, retirement, risk management and investment planning advice. Also, by the CPA/PFS credential program, which allows CPAs to demonstrate competence and confidence in providing these services to their clients. Visit us online at www.aicpa.org/pfp to join our community, gain access to valuable member-only benefits or learn about our PFP certificate program. Subscribe to the PFP Podcast channel at Libsyn to find all the latest episodes or search “AICPA Personal Financial Planning” on your favorite podcast app.

"How CPAs can succeed in 2022" In this week's episode we spoke with Rita Keller, CPA firm management consultant. Keller has been a respected voice in CPA firm management for more than 30 years. Her daily blog, Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders, touches on everything from the talent shortage to increasing firm fees. We discussed how professionals can succeed in 2022, how firm leaders can create a cohesive cultural amid remote work and about lessons the accounting profession learned in 2021.

Mr. Ziglar was truly one of the greats. Even after his passing, I think this man continues to touch more lives and help more people in a day than most of us – myself included – do in a lifetime. People mentioned in this episode: Zig Ziglar Books and other resources mentioned in this episode: Leave It to Beaver Six things about Simple Secrets and its founder, Chris Allen: Simple Secrets, LLC is a profit+growth consultancy based in Asheville, North Carolina, with team members around the world. Simple Secrets collaborates with a hand-selected group of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and independent practitioners – doctors, lawyers, dentists, veterinarians, CPAs, etc. – to maximize their incomes, allowing them more well-deserved focus, freedom and fulfillment. Simple Secrets was founded in 2015 by award-winning direct response marketer, entrepreneur, and consultant Chris Allen. In the pre-Internet 90's, Chris developed and marketed millions of dollars worth of physical products on radio and TV – the old "operators are standing by" days – then used his time-tested warchest of successful marketing methods to go completely digital in 2002, when the Internet began to mature. For over a decade, Chris provided information and consulting services to a variety of Fortune 500 companies, including United Airlines, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sony, LexisNexis and The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). When he's not online, helping clients, Chris enjoys playing way too much Pickleball, and eating way too much pizza. Don't forget your FREE GIFTS! If you're an entrepreneur, own a small business, or have a private practice, click the link below for FREE GIFTS guaranteed to make you more money with less stress... SimpleSecrets.com

Today I have the five books that I most often recommend to my clients, because I want you to be able to benefit from the excellent writing that's out there, that can help you move forward more effectively in your business.  These 5 books are straightforward, boot-on-the-ground practical advice for ways to improve your business.  I hope you find something to enjoy that will contribute to the transformation of your business, and lead to you living a whole and beautiful life.   Here they are:   The Business of Expertise by David C. Baker https://www.amazon.com/Business-Expertise-Entrepreneurial-Experts-Convert/dp/1605440604 Expertise increases value, and value improves prices. Improved prices allows you to reduce workload, which helps you get off the so-called hamster wheel.  It starts with (differentiated) expertise.    $100 Million Offers by Alex Hormozi https://amazon.com/100M-Offers-People-Stupid-Saying/dp/1737475731/ Once you have your differentiated expertise and a clear position in the marketplace, it's time to learn how to package and title your services, in a way that's appealing. Then you make offers, observe your results, and learn from what sells.    Atomic Habits by James Clear https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0593189647/ Being overworked with a “handle what's most on fire” strategy is guaranteed to thwart progress.  Integrating more effective habits throughout your business and your day will improve your output.    The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow https://amazon.com/Automatic-Customer-Subscription-Warrillow-2015-02-05/dp/B01MY26IQ8/ Once you have your expertise and position honed, your offers dialed in, and your own habits on repeat, it's time to get your customers (clients) on repeat.  Single transaction has its place, but recurring is where it's at, and The Automatic Customer (as well as my interview with Mr Warrillow) will help you create your first subscription service.    Pricing Creativity by Blair Enns https://www.winwithoutpitching.com/pricing-creativity/ Now that you have your services packaged, it's time to price them right. Underpricing is like gravity: a powerful force that will keep your business grounded. If you want to reach escape velocity, smart pricing is your rocket fuel.    …………   ***Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?***   Subscribe here: https://www.shethinksbigcoaching.com/subscribe-main-list

In this special episode of Cubicle Confidential Mary Abbajay and Chris De Santis were invited to answer viewers' questions live at the Non-Profit Symposium sponsored by the Greater Washington Society of CPAs. The audience had questions about creating change, workplace culture, getting promoted, dealing with toxic bosses, and succeeding in a hybrid environment. You can also view the video for this live event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rhLBGK44x4&list=PLdzhjBjt3JooXHmnHQ6M4_HQCcmuduZJ9Enjoy!

This quote doesn't mean anything unless you know the classic Zen story behind it. I heard Dr. Dyer tell it years ago, and here's how I remember it… A farmer walking into town passes The Buddha and says, “Buddha, please help me." "Something terrible has happened. My ox just died and now I have no way to plow my fields." "Isn't that the worst thing that could have happened to me?” The Buddha replies, “Maybe so; maybe not.” The farmer walks away shaking his head, thinking The Buddha has obviously gone mad. On his way home, he spots a huge, strong, wild horse and ropes him. This horse will do even more work than the ox. Next week, the farmer sees The Buddha and says, “You were right! I now have a horse that can do twice the work of my old ox. Isn't that wonderful news?” “Maybe so; maybe not,” says The Buddha. Again, the farmer walks home thinking The Buddha has lost touch with reality. When he arrives, he finds his son lying on the ground with a broken leg. He had been thrown while riding the new horse. On his next trip into town, the farmer spots The Buddha and says, “You were right again." "The horse broke my son's leg. Now he won't be able to help me at harvest time." "Surely, Buddha, don't you see this is the worst news imaginable?” “Maybe so; maybe not,” the Buddha calmly replied. That was the last straw! The farmer walked away, telling himself he had wasted enough time seeking advice from this old, senile man. Just then, word spread throughout town that war had broken out against a bigger, stronger village. Troops were going to every house and farm to round up all the able-bodied young men to fight. They would be outnumbered and outmatched, and would most likely die. The farmer rushed home. The troops had come, but since his son had a broken leg, he was not taken, and his life was spared. And from that day forward, the farmer never doubted the wisdom of The Buddha again. People mentioned in this episode: Dr. Wayne DyerAndrew CarnegieJohn D. RockefellerJ. P. MorganCornelius Vanderbilt Please Note: I realize not all these gentlemen made their fortunes during The Depression. My point is about their attitudes regarding the prevailing financial conditions of their times. Books and other resources mentioned in this episode: None today. Six things about Simple Secrets and its founder, Chris Allen: Simple Secrets, LLC is a profit+growth consultancy based in Asheville, North Carolina, with team members around the world. Simple Secrets collaborates with a hand-selected group of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and independent practitioners – doctors, lawyers, dentists, veterinarians, CPAs, etc. – to maximize their incomes, allowing them more well-deserved focus, freedom and fulfillment. Simple Secrets was founded in 2015 by award-winning direct response marketer, entrepreneur, and consultant Chris Allen. In the pre-Internet 90's, Chris developed and marketed millions of dollars worth of physical products on radio and TV – the old "operators are standing by" days – then used his time-tested warchest of successful marketing methods to go completely digital in 2002, when the Internet began to mature. For over a decade, Chris provided information and consulting services to a variety of Fortune 500 companies, including United Airlines, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sony, LexisNexis and The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). When he's not online, helping clients, Chris enjoys playing way too much Pickleball, and eating way too much pizza. Don't forget your FREE GIFTS! If you're an entrepreneur, own a small business, or have a private practice, click the link below for FREE GIFTS guaranteed to make you more money with less stress... SimpleSecrets.com

Lee Reams II is the founder and CEO of ClientWhys, Inc. ClientWhys is a SaaS developer that delivers sales and marketing automation software to businesses built by word-of-mouth. Applications include websites for accountants, email newsletters, social media automation, secure client portals, marketplaces and tax and financial web content. In November 2014, ClientWhys relaunched TaxBuzz.com, an online marketplace where taxpayers connect with five-star rated tax professionals. In 2018, ClientWhys launched CountingWorks.com, where business owners can instantly compare thousands of trusted accounting professionals to find their best match. Over 300,000 taxpayers and business owners have been matched with trusted tax and accounting professionals, with traffic growing exponentially. Lee is a prolific blogger, a member of the Forbes Finance Council and provides year-round training and consulting to thousands of CPAs, EAs, and tax accounting professionals. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rush-tech-support/message

This week, we welcome Lindsay M. Andiola, PhD, back on the show. Lindsay is a professor of Accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dave and Lindsay chat about the effects of the pandemic on the working life of accountants, the evolving wants of newly-graduated CPAs, how CPAs can help sustain the profession for the future, and much more.Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn here.Looking for quality CPE? See Dave's diverse catalog of courses at Peters Professional Education at https://www.petersprofessionaleducation.com!Visit us at https://www.davidpetersfinancial.com/Please Note: All tax preparation is performed by Peters Tax Preparation & Consulting, PC.  CFO Capital Management and Cruice Financial Organization [CFO] do not prepare tax returns.  Peters Tax Preparation & Consulting, PC is not affiliated with CFO Capital Management and Cruice Financial Organization. CFO clients or prospective clients are never obligated to use Peters Tax Preparation & Consulting, PC. as part of any financial planning or investment management services offered by CFO Capital Management and Cruice Financial Organization.

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending December 11th, 2021... new FHFA conforming loans limits, tappable equity at a record high, and where drones may be used to inspect buildings.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Economic News We begin with economic news from this past week, including a report that shows inflation has hit a 39-year-high. The government reported a .8% increase in consumer prices last month. That puts the yearly rate at 6.8% which is more than 3 times the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Higher prices for gas, motor vehicles, housing, and food account for most of the increase. The Fed expects inflation to fall below the 3% level by the end of next year. Some economists expect it to take longer. (1) The latest unemployment report shows that initial claims dropped to just 184,000. That's the lowest level since 1969. The government adjusts the numbers for seasonal employment so they may be skewed somewhat, but as MarketWatch reports, they are extremely low and economists expect them to go even lower as the economy continues to strengthen. There's also a worker shortage so many employers are hesitant to let people go. (2) Even if they aren't firing workers, there's been a surge in the number of people leaving or switching jobs. As MarketWatch reports, almost 39 million people have quit their jobs this year. That includes a record 4.4 million in September. Economists expect the year to end with a record-high quits rate. Some are calling this trend “The Great Resignation.” (3)Consumer sentiment turned positive in December, although many Americans are still worried about inflation. The University of Michigan index rose to 70.4. That's up three points from the November reading, but down about 10 points from a year ago. (4)Mortgage RatesMortgage rates are still close to the 3% level. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down one basis point to 3.1% last week. The 15-year was also down one point, to 2.38%. (5)In other news making headlines…Conforming Loan Limits Move HigherThe Federal Housing Finance Agency released final figures on conforming loan limits for 2022. For most of the nation, the maximum amount will be $647,200.The maximum moves above the baseline amount for more expensive areas like the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, and others. The highest amount rises to almost a million dollars in those pricier locations, to $970,800. That's 150% above the baseline amount. (6)New Record High for Housing Prices Home prices are a moving target and continue to move higher although price growth has slowed down a bit. Redfin says the median home sale price rose to a new high during the four-week period that ended on December 5th. It says the median price is now $360,250. That's 14% higher than it was a year earlier, and 30% higher from December of 2019. (7)The average sale-to-list price ratio was 100.5%. That means the average home sold at .5% over it's listing price. That's only the average. In 43% of the transactions, homes sold for more than the listing price. In 31% of the sales, sellers accepted an offer within one week of the homes hitting the market.Tappable Equity SurgesSkyrocketing prices are giving property owners a lot of equity. Black Knight says total U.S. home equity was up $250 billion in the third quarter to a total of $9.4 trillion. That's 32% higher than the same time last year. AND it's almost 90% higher than it was right before the housing market collapsed into the Great Recession. (8)Black Knight's data and analytics president Ben Graboske says: “That works out to nearly $178,000 available in tappable equity to the average homeowner with a mortgage before hitting a maximum combined loan-to-value ratio of 80%.”Average mortgage debt is now down to 45.2% thanks to higher prices. That's giving consumers and investors more tappable equity that can be used for other purposes such as home improvements or the purchase of investment properties. Building Inspections with Drones?Drones could be the next great tool for New York building inspectors. They usually perform their inspections using binoculars and cameras from the street, and sometimes from the roofs of other buildings. Construction Dive reports that the city may soon authorize the use of drones for those inspections. (9)Officials say they could “yield more detailed results and greater safety, as well as greater efficiency and documentation.”That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-u-s-consumer-price-index-for-november-11639142278?mod=home-page2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-sink-43-000-to-184-000-lowest-since-1969-11639057122?mod=mw_latestnews3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/people-quit-jobs-at-slightly-slower-rate-in-october-11638976546?mod=econo4 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-december-umich-consumer-sentiment-11639147437?mod=economic-report5 -http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/6 -https://www.fhfa.gov/DataTools/Downloads/Pages/Conforming-Loan-Limits.aspx7 -https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-record-high-price-record-low-inventory/8 -https://www.blackknightinc.com/black-knights-october-2021-mortgage-monitor/?9 - https://www.constructiondive.com/news/new-york-city-inches-toward-drones-for-building-inspections/611185/

Life insurance can be much more than a death benefit. If properly designed, funded, and managed, it can provide an incredible opportunity to grow and distribute assets tax free. In this episode of the PFP Section podcast, Susan Bruno, CPA/PFS, and Michael Fontanini, with Lion Street, share: Who the ideal clients are for this strategy Why this is an excellent way to supplement retirement income Using this approach as an asset location tool How to know if this technique beats investing money directly into the market Access resources related to this podcast: Note: If you're using a podcast app that does not hyperlink to the resources, visit http://pfplanning.libsyn.com/ to access show notes with direct links.   Listen to part one and part two of this life insurance series. Access Susan's tool to review life insurance policies with clients. Gain more expertise with the AICPA's risk management and insurance certificate. Use the personal finance scorecard to begin planning conversations with clients.   This episode is brought to you by the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Section, the premier provider of information, tools, advocacy and guidance for professionals who specialize in providing tax, estate, retirement, risk management and investment planning advice. Also, by the CPA/PFS credential program, which allows CPAs to demonstrate competence and confidence in providing these services to their clients. Visit us online at www.aicpa.org/pfp to join our community, gain access to valuable member-only benefits or learn about our PFP certificate program. Subscribe to the PFP Podcast channel at Libsyn to find all the latest episodes or search “AICPA Personal Financial Planning” on your favorite podcast app.

***Want one piece of business strategy delivered daily to your inbox?*** Subscribe here: https://www.shethinksbigcoaching.com/subscribe-main-list Subscription is all the rage in software and in other industries, but the accounting industry is hardly speedy on the uptake.  While the value appears to be there, something - or perhaps many things - are in the way of accountants and CPAs making the shift to the subscription pricing model.  Here today to talk with me about this challenge is my guest, John Warrillow. John is the founder of The Value Builder System, a practice management software for business advisors. He is also the author of the best-selling book Built to Sell, The Automatic Customer, and The Art of Selling Your Business. He is the host of Built to Sell Radio, which was recognized by Forbes as one of the 10 best podcasts for business owners. Highlights: — “Recurring revenue makes your business more predictable, and that allows you to build a much more efficient firm.” — “Once somebody subscribes to your firm, not only do you get the recurring revenue associated with that subscription, but it makes your customers more likely to buy other things from you.” — “There's no way you can serve all your customers with one subscription model. Instead, what you want to do is segment first.” — “You hire salespeople to sell your product or your service. Your job (as the business owner) is to sell your firm.” — “Scarcity gives people a bit of a nudge towards decision-making. It makes them get over the classic challenge of any subscription, that if it's a subscription, it's always available.”   Download the PDF for this episode:  9 Subscription Models eBook - http://builttosell.com/carter   Connect with JOHN: Website: https://builttosell.com/

In this second episode of this two-part episode, Phil continues his conversation with Zachary Gordon, a CPA based in New York. Zachary discusses more on the cannabis industry, sharing his tips for CPAs and accountants who are interested in taking clients from this industry. He also provides tips for handling audits and shares where he sees the cannabis industry going in the next five years. He also talks about cryptocurrency and the services he provides for this digital form of money.

Real estate investors who pay cash could face more scrutiny from the federal government. The Treasury Department is proposing new regulations on shell companies, like LLC's, as a way to crack down on money laundering through real estate deals.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Government's Plan to Stop Money LaunderingDeputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, discussed the government's plan to fight corruption at the Brookings Institution. He addressed the issue by saying: “Corruption thrives in the financial shadows--in shell corporations that disguise owners' true identities, in offshore jurisdictions with lax anti-money laundering regulations, and in complex structures that allow the wealthy to hide their income from government authorities.” (1)Adeyemo is proposing that countries around the world join this effort to separate the bad actors from the good ones, because many shell companies are perfectly legitimate. It's a recognized strategy to put your residential rental properties, and other kinds of properties, inside something like an LLC as a way to limit any legal liabilities or potential lawsuits to just one property, and not your whole portfolio.But it's also possible to set up a shell company, and to use that company to purchase expensive properties with dirty money. That's what the Treasury Department is targeting.Three-Pronged ApproachAdeyemo wants to tackle this problem in three different ways:1 - He wants to improve transparency by forcing certain types of U.S. and foreign companies that are registered in the U.S. to disclose their beneficial owners, which are the people who actually run the companies. He's implementing this effort under the Corporate Transparency Act which allows the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to build a central registry for this information. One particular area of concern is the real estate market and all-cash deals that don't require the disclosure of the buyers who may be hiding behind a shell company. Adeyemo is soliciting public comment on the best way to address this problem.2 - He also wants to use the new information to improve the investigation and prosecution of any illegal activity, including money laundering, bribery, embezzlement, and extortion, and tax evasion. He says: “Today, the top 1 percent of earners in the United States underpay their taxes by more than $160 billion each year, depriving every other American of the money we need to invest in things that benefit the whole country, like roads, childcare, and education.” Enforcement might include sanctions, as well as criminal law enforcement.3 - The third leg of his strategy is “partnership.” He wants to expand the effort to allies and partners around the world as well as the private sector, and civil society groups. He says the U.S. can't address corruption without an international effort. As an example, he says “more than 40% of global payments are conducted in euros or pounds.”Impact on Real Estate InvestorsSo what does all this mean for investors who buy and sell residential rental properties inside an LLC? It could mean that the title companies will be required to file reports that identify the beneficial owners of those properties. This is already the law in 12 U.S. cities for transactions over $300,000. That includes Boston; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; and Seattle.According to realtor.com, the new regulations would expand the disclosure requirement from coast-to-coast. They may also include the purchase of commercial property as well as residential. (2)Some people say the new rules are long overdue. Attorney and anti-money laundering expert, Ross Delston, told Bloomberg: “I'm not sure where the U.S. Treasury has been for the last decade or two, but give them credit for attempting to address a gap that has festered for years and has resulted in the U.S.A. being the money laundering haven of choice for the world's corrupt politicians.” (3)If you'd like to read more about this topic, you'll find links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.You can also join RealWealth, for free. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy05162 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/12/07/white-house-seeks-increased-oversight-on-all-cash-deals3 -https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-06/biden-eyes-shell-company-real-estate-purchases-for-tighter-rules

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending December 4th, 2021... the $2 trillion real estate milestone, the homebuyer's search for suburban homes, and the brick-and-mortar store comeback.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Economic NewsWe begin with economic news from this past week. Pending home sales surged higher in October. The National Association of Realtors says they were up 7.5%. That's substantially higher than the .7% predicted by MarketWatch economists. Contract signings were higher in all four U.S. regions, but the Midwest had the biggest gain of 11.8%. (1) Home price growth has cooled off a bit. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index shows a 19.1% year-over-year gain in September. That's a half a percent lower than it was in August, which is not much of a decline. Craig Lazzara of the S&P DJI says that housing prices continue to show remarkable strength. He describes the change of pace as “deceleration.” (2)The weekly unemployment report shows that initial claims jumped back above the 200,000 mark. Just two weeks ago, the number of applications hit a 52-year low of 194,000. It could be that some people decided to wait until after Thanksgiving to file for their benefits. (3) The U.S. jobless rate has fallen again, from 4.6% to 4.2%. MarketWatch reports that almost 600,000 people rejoined the workforce in November, and the participation rate of 61.8% is now the highest it's been since the beginning of the pandemic. (4)If we look at job growth for the construction industry, builders added 31,000 positions last month. Specialty contractors created the most with 13,000 new positions. Civil and heavy engineering accounted for the rest. First American economist Odeta Kushi says: “It was a strong month for construction.” (5)Mortgage RatesMortgage rates didn't move much this last week. Freddie Mac says the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was up just 1 basis point, to 3.11%. The 15-year was down 3 basis points, to 2.39%. (6)In other news making headlines…$2 Trillion in Real Estate Deals for 2021?Real estate transactions could hit a huge milestone this year. CoreLogic says they topped $600 billion in the second quarter. That's after $750 billion in transactions for the first quarter. Researchers say if the trend continues, we'll hit the $2 trillion mark by the end of the year. (7)CoreLogic economist, Thomas Malone, says it's a combination of high home prices and the migration to bigger homes in more expensive areas. He says: “The value of transactions has skyrocketed despite sales volumes continuing a relatively normal growth trend.”The report also shows that if you look at the last four quarters from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2021, real estate transactions have already hit the $2 trillion mark. CoreLogic says the total value for that time period was $2.25 trillion.Suburbs Are Not Losing Their AppealThe desire for a home in the suburbs is still going strong, even as many people return to the cities. Realtor.com says that 62% of the online home views in September were for suburban homes while the other 38% were for urban areas. (8)Realtor.com's chief economist, Danielle Hale, says the pre-pandemic suburban vs. city dynamic is changing because of remote work options and high rents in the city. She says: “The price premium is shrinking between notoriously expensive urban housing and suburban for-sale homes, typically known for more bargains.” Inventory levels also reveal the difference. They were down 13% annually in September for suburban areas and only 8% for cities.More Stores Opening Than ClosingE-commerce may have disrupted the retail environment and put a lot of brick-and-mortar stores out of business. But now, the opposite appears to be happening. According to a new analysis by the IHL Group, there are more store openings than closures for the first time in four years. And many of those new openings are due to e-commerce websites wanting a brick-and-mortar presence. (9)As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Levi Strauss is one example. The clothing company plans to open 100 U.S. stores over the next five years. Dick's Sporting Goods is another example, with plans to open more than 800 stores under several brand names. And of course, there's e-commerce giant Amazon which is planning to open its own department stores.For 2021, IHL expects that 4,361 more stores will have opened than were shut down.That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-surge-higher-in-october-will-the-new-covid-variant-trip-up-the-real-estate-market-11638198301?mod=economy-politics2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-price-growth-slows-even-as-the-cost-to-buy-continues-to-hit-records-11638281060?mod=economy-politics3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-climb-28-000-to-222-000-in-thanksgiving-week-11638452207?mod=economy-politics4 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-u-s-jobs-report-for-november-11638537320?mod=economy-politics5 -https://www.housingwire.com/articles/residential-construction-jobs-slowly-return/6 -http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/7 -https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/2021-is-on-pace-to-be-the-first-multi-trillion-dollar-real-estate-market/8 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/11/29/suburbs-remain-popular-even-as-cities-stage-comeback9 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/11/29/first-time-in-4-years-more-store-openings-than-closures

You don't have to be an expert in all of the tools and technical strategies to have meaningful philanthropic conversations with your clients. It's about knowing how to artfully communicate and bring value to your clients. In this episode of the PFP Section podcast, Jonathan Gassman, CPA/PFS, and Richard Peck, with the New Hampshire Community Foundation, share: How to incorporate philanthropic planning in your communications with clients Why engaging with other advisors can deepen bonds with clients The arc of philanthropy and determining where clients are How to get involved personally and building firm culture through giving to your community Access resources related to this podcast: Note: If you're using a podcast app that does not hyperlink to the resources, visit http://pfplanning.libsyn.com/ to access show notes with direct links.  Use the personal finance scorecard to deepen conversations with clients. Help clients see other areas for value added planning with the analysis of a tax return for PFP opportunities checklist. Access the 4-volume guide to financial and estate planning written by Steve Siegel and Sid Kess. This episode is brought to you by the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Section, the premier provider of information, tools, advocacy and guidance for professionals who specialize in providing tax, estate, retirement, risk management and investment planning advice. Also, by the CPA/PFS credential program, which allows CPAs to demonstrate competence and confidence in providing these services to their clients. Visit us online at www.aicpa.org/pfp to join our community, gain access to valuable member-only benefits or learn about our PFP certificate program. Subscribe to the PFP Podcast channel at Libsyn to find all the latest episodes or search “AICPA Personal Financial Planning” on your favorite podcast app.

If you're interested in becoming a landlord and would like to avoid some of the mistakes that other investors have made, you'll learn a lot from this interview. Our guest became an accidental landlord and found out the hard way that active management of rentals can be a lot of work. He quickly learned that having good property managers that send you checks every month is the way to go. In this episode, Jim Pfeifer tells some interesting stories about the mistakes he's made so you don't have to repeat them.Jim is a former financial advisor and stock market investor who has turned his attention to real assets. It wasn't his choice to become a landlord at first, but after he saw the potential for passive wealth, he was hooked. He's been involved with single-family and multi-family rental units as a landlord, but is currently focused on syndications. He has more than 45 passive syndications under his belt including apartments, mobile homes, self-storage, private lending and notes, ATM's, commercial and industrial triple net leases, assisted living facilities and international coffee farms and cacao producers. As the founder of Left Field Investors, he also helps other people get started in passive real estate syndications. And, he's the host of the podcast: Passive Investing from Left Field.You can learn more about the ins and outs of passive real estate investing with good property management at our website, RealWealthShow.com. Sign up for free, and get access to the Investor Portal where you can see sample properties and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to subscribe to our podcast and leave a review! Thank you!

In this week's episode we spoke with Joe DePeder, CPA, the owner of Audit Ready, a company that provides audit readiness services to businesses. Joe was in public accounting for six years before venturing out on his own, and we talked about what it's like to start your own business as a young professional, what made him want to take the leap to entrepreneurship and advice he has for others who are interested in doing something similar. 

Demand for manufactured housing is growing as a way to close the affordability gap. Factory-built homes were once viewed as a low-quality alternative to site-built homes, but that's no longer the case. Factory-built homes are now built to similar standards but they cost less because it's less expensive to build any kind of product in a factory.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Manufacturing housing is enjoying a rebirth of sorts. Factory-built homes were known as “mobile homes” in the 1970s, and there are plenty of them still in existence today. But the newly designed and produced manufactured homes are quite different, according to industry experts.Site-Built vs. Factory-BuiltJim Ayotte is the executive director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association based in Tallahassee. He recently spoke with the Tampa Times about today's manufactured homes and how they compare to site-built homes. (1)He told the Times that many people have an outdated perception of manufactured homes. He says people will say things like: “Oh, mobile homes, those old things? We don't want those in our neighborhoods. They're not really safe.”But he says the new factory-built homes are built to the similar standards as site-built homes when it comes to “energy efficiency, wind safety and everything else.” Those building codes were upgraded after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, for both kinds of homes. He says: “Today, manufactured homes are built to wind standards that are as high or higher than homes built to the Florida building codes.”Today's manufactured homes also come in “all shapes and sizes.” Depending on the size, some may have porches and/or garages. He says the higher-end manufactured homes are pretty much indistinguishable from a home that was built on location.Manufactured Homes in the Tampa AreaAyotte suggests that anyone interested in affordable homes should check out what you can buy today. And, he says there's plenty of places to find them in the Tampa Bay area. He says that from 2020 to 2021, manufactured home shipments have increased by 18% in Hillsborough County, which is home to the city of Tampa. To the north, in Pasco County, shipments are up 10% and farther north in Citrus County, they are up 26%. To the east, in Pinellas County and the St. Petersburg area, they are up 9%.And the manufactured housing trend is growing. He says there are nine home-building plants in Florida that have increased production by 30% over the last two years. And, he says, every one of them is backlogged.Like all home builders, they are running into supply chain issues right now, but Ayotte says that manufactured home builders buy their materials more efficiently and more cost-effectively. He says that prices are coming back down, but they never come down quite as fast as they go up.He says, currently, the average price for a manufactured home in Florida is about $101 to $102,000. That's up from about $84,500 in 2019. Those prices are without the cost of the land, but they still represent a big savings.When you do a cost comparison between site-built and factory-built homes, Ayotte says there's typically a 20% price difference. But he also emphasizes that the price difference isn't due to a difference in quality. He says it's because factory-built homes are built more efficiently.Improved Loan Access for Manufactured HousingThe Federal Housing Authority is also trying to make it easier for homebuyers to get loans for manufactured homes. The agency recently issued new guidelines for its Title I loan program which provides loans for home improvements along with loans for manufactured homes.HousingWire reports that the FHA consolidated 120 separate policy documents so lenders won't have to sort through them all. It also updated some policies associated with the purchase of manufactured homes. One of the updates will permit a sales comparison approach to appraisals, for example. Another will expand allowable income sources for borrowers. (2) Manufactured homes could also make good rental homes, at a lower price point. In California, where state laws allow for Accessory Dwelling Units on single-family properties, homeowners can buy pre-made cottages to put in their backyards. And then of course, rent them out. The potential is there for not just affordable housing, but affordable rental housing.If you'd like to read more about this topic, you'll find links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com.You can also join RealWealth, for free. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.tampabay.com/news/real-estate/2021/12/01/as-florida-house-prices-climb-demand-increases-for-manufactured-homes/2 -https://www.housingwire.com/articles/fhas-manufactured-housing-loan-program-gets-a-facelift/

A lot of the nation's empty commercial space is being put to good use. A recent report by RentCafe shows a huge surge in the conversion of vacant commercial buildings into apartment complexes. This so-called “adaptive reuse” trend began more than a decade ago, but accelerated substantially this past year, especially for the conversion of unused office space.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.A recent report by RentCafe says that, by the end of this year, developers will have created 20,100 residential units within old commercial buildings. Add that number to the 12,000 units created last year, and the decade kicks off with a total of 32,000 apartments created by converting commercial buildings into apartment homes.Decade-Long TrendAccording to RentCafe, it's a trend that began in 2010 with 5,200 conversions. Back then, hotels were the most popular kind of building to convert into apartments. Old factories and office buildings were also popular, but not as much as hotels.There was a steady increase of conversions each year through 2017, which logged about 15,500 conversions. The numbers fell in 2018 through 2020, and blasted off again this year, especially for the conversion of old office buildings. RentCafe says that 41% of the units created during that last two years were formerly used for office space.It's been a good opportunity for developers and investors, because adaptive reuse is less costly than ground-up construction, especially with supply chain issues that are holding up new projects. It's also a more earth-friendly option.Lower Environmental ImpactNorth Carolina city planner, Emil Malizia, told RentCafe: “Perhaps the most compelling reason to choose adaptive reuse for apartments versus new apartment construction is the lower environmental impact, especially if demolition is involved.” He says: “Adaptive reuse mitigates climate change; demolitions and new construction do not.”Cost SavingsThe cost savings are also impressive. Malizia says that adaptive reuse can lower construction costs by as much as 30-40%, so long as the cost of the site and the building is not a lot more than a piece of undeveloped land. And right now, it might even be easier to secure an old building than a plot of land, especially if the current remote work trend continues. Companies are changing the way they do business, thanks to the pandemic, and reducing the number of private offices they maintain. Unused Office SpaceAs CNBC reports, office vacancy rates remain high in many U.S. cities, so building owners have been scrambling to put them to use. And we're likely to see even more office space becoming available. A PwC survey says that about a third of the executives are expecting their office space needs to decrease over the next three years, because of remote workers. (2)Although many renters fled from their city apartments during the pandemic, city life is bringing them back. And these commercial space conversions are providing a convenient option for returnees who want to live downtown, in or near the business district.Because there is typically less housing in areas with a lot of office buildings, these conversions also offer a prime “location.” And when you have that, the opportunity for developers and investors can be lucrative.Top Cities for ConversionsWhile this trend is surging in the U.S., it's also happening more in some cities than others. For 2020 and 2021, the city with the most conversions was Philadelphia. Developers created almost 2,000 new apartments through adaptive reuse. Washington, D.C.; Cleveland; Chicago; and Los Angeles were next on that list. They all had more than 1,000 conversions over that last two years. Other cities with a lot of conversions were Alexandria, Virginia; Detroit, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and New York City.You can see the RentCafe report by following a link in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. You can also join RealWealth, for free. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources. That includes experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/adaptive-reuse-apartments-2021/2 -https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/24/a-record-number-of-office-buildings-turned-into-apartments-this-year.html

As we round out the year, tax professionals have more than just the holidays to look forward to. Tax season is upon us and there's a lot to talk about this year. Edward Karl is the Vice President of Taxation for the American Institute of CPAs. He's also a member of the Maryland Association of CPAs. He has his finger on the pulse of our nation more than almost anyone in the field. He joins us today to help break down all the changes happening for the upcoming tax season, review what's in the Build Back Better infrastructure package, and comment on the state of IRS customer service. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit https://blionline.org/blog (blionline.org/blog). Resources: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-s-karl-cpa-027a7442 (linkedin.com/in/edward-s-karl-cpa-027a7442) https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/the-tax-impact-of-the-infrastructure-act (The tax impact of the infrastructure act) Future-Proof is a production of http://crate.media/ (Crate Media)

DOWNLOAD SOLCIETY APP NOW! Speaker 1 (00:03):Welcome to the Solarpreneur podcast, where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level. My name is Taylor Armstrong and I went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in a year and cracking the code on why sales reps fail. I teach you to avoid the mistakes I made and bringing the top solar dogs, the industry to let you in on the secrets of generating more leads, falling up like a pro and closing more deals. What is a Solarpreneur you might ask a Solarpreneur is a new breed of solar pro that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve mastery and you are about to become one.Speaker 2 (00:42):What's going on Solarpreneurs, we're back with a another episode, and this is another feature we have with our recent sponsor on the show, and that is pipes in to get. So we've got the man behind kind of the, I would like maybe like the scientist behind the scenes working on the backend of all this. So he's going to give us yeah, just get a stoked about pipe syndicate. Tell us a little bit more about what's going on. So we've got Austin Underwood on the show, Austin. Thanks for coming on with us today.Speaker 3 (01:11):Yeah, thanks for having me today. Yeah, so we I came on to talk about a company that we've been involved with and Taylor's been doing some stuff with called PI syndicate. It's basically a program that we've decided as a mastermind to help solar wraps any real wrap in the door door industry, but primarily solar. I mean, you get all these kids that are coming in to do quite a bit of money all of a sudden, and they don't really know what to do with it, or maybe they're not as smart as they, as it could be. And they don't really know that. And so we help them manage and kind of help really just manage that money. So we're, we're helping them utilize our skills to make that money go further for them as they're, as they're younger and they don't know what to do with it, or they just don't know how to get into certain aspects of, of the investment pools that they want to.Speaker 3 (01:58):And then a big portion of that is tax mitigation. So we help mitigate the taxes on your income side. And we do that a numerous of ways. I mean, we really just decided that we needed to start something that would help out the reps. I there's so many different companies that come in and help the owners, the CEOs, the high level executives. Everybody wants to take care of those guys, but nobody's really talking about, you know, that, that new rep that just started in solar, that you know, is going to crush it and make, you know, 250 K this year, that just came out of nowhere. And and nobody helps that kid, right? He, he gets his tax bill. He goes to a CPA. He thinks he's doing everything the right way. And he doesn't really know that there's a different way to do it, or there's more opportunities than he really thinks there are.Speaker 3 (02:40):And so we wanted to start something that would really help, not only the companies, because we have corporate memberships, we have memberships that include CEOs and owners and things like that, but we wanted a lower level package for the reps. So I rapped could afford it. And a rep could come in and, and say, Hey, I don't know what to do here. I don't know how to file these. I don't know what the right expenses should go, where we just take care of all that for you. We've designed it to be a white glove service. That'll just take care of it for you.Speaker 2 (03:10):That's awesome. And it's cool. Cause you guys have, you know, different packages, different levels. So there's really no excuse for anyone not to being, be getting help from you guys financially. Cause yeah, I mean, yeah, they're lower packages. Maybe it's just the taxes you want done.Speaker 3 (03:24):Yeah. Well, and we, we do the three packages. There's about three main ones and we do them for a reason is we really want, you know, we go anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 and we do that because we know that there are different needs for different people. Some people aren't in a place this year, you know, some of those new reps, aren't in a place to need all of the benefits with a 15 and $30,000 package, but they definitely needed a $5,000 package and, and vice versa. Some guys are too far. But what, what we do allow is as you grow, we grow with you. So you eventually can move into those spots and not have any problems.Speaker 2 (03:54):Yeah, that's awesome. So yeah, we're going to talk more about that and get into more detail here, but I wanted to hear from you, do you Austin, we were talking yesterday and you told me your background. What's really cool. Austin has just kind of the rags to riches story. I grew up in pretty humble beginnings and all that. So I wanted to see if you would tell our listeners kind of like your upbringing, your story with that, and then how you got more involved in like, you know, door to door and like financial side of things.Speaker 3 (04:21):Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So we, we we grew up in Utah, so we're from salt lake city, Utah, but we grew up in a little suburb subsidiary section and a Ned called Magna super far west. And it's a, it's a really humble little city. I mean, it's, it's really small compared to most cities in Utah. We we struggled a little bit with, with financial matters and you know, it wasn't like I ever went without things for the most part. I mean, there was a few times that, you know, things got a little, a little sketchy, but for the most part, you know, we, we made it work and, you know, I think for the time and the era, you know, my parents were bringing in like $30,000 together. Like both of them were working, full-time multiple jobs at one point. And you know, it was just hard to figure it out. Right. You know,Speaker 2 (05:07):And you're not that old, so that's right. Yeah. Cause some people are like, oh, maybe he's maybe Austin's like 60 years old.Speaker 3 (05:14):Yeah. I'm only 25. And I I just decided like, you know, at a young age, I, I'm not going to live like this. I can't, I can't do this, this isn't for me. Like not even just the money, but just the security behind what the money brings. Right. It's really not about the money it's I wanted to be able to first off utilize how to use the money. So what do I need to do to keep the money that I'm going to bring in? Right. Not just trying to generate millions and millions of dollars. Like I think most people think, right. You could have a million dollars but use it the right way and still have more money than somebody with $5 million that uses it the wrong way. Right. Yeah. And so that's kind of where, where I started out and I really was just like, yeah, there's gotta be something I can do.Speaker 3 (05:53):So actually, one of my first jobs as I went around to a local restaurants and things like that, and I was like, Hey, that disgusting garbage brick wall thing that you guys keep your garbage Kennan. I'll scrub it out, you know, for like 20 bucks an hour, I'll come every Saturday and I'll do it all. I just ride my bike over there and you know, I was like 13 years old and I needed money for something. Oh, I, well, I wanted to go to a T I wanted to go on a trip to New York city to visit my uncle. We were never really able to go on any sort of traveling trips. I didn't really start to travel until I got into my early twenties when I could pay for it myself. The, the most I had ever really traveled as we would drive somewhere, anywhere we could drive, we could kind of go, but that was it.Speaker 3 (06:32):I had never been, I didn't get on an airplane until I paid for my ticket by myself. And I just happened to be 13 years old. But I just, I just, I went crazy all summer and I just hustled as hard as I could. And so I started doing that and I got that company up pretty, pretty good. I think I was doing at one point like 50, 50 restaurants within riding, riding, riding my bicycle distance. So there's a big street. If you drive out to 5,600 west where it's just lined with restaurants up and down, both sides of the street. So I just went and talked to every, every single one that I could. And, and I had an uncle that was in the franchise world and he was like, well, yeah, you can come do you know mine? And I was like, okay, you'll let me come do these.Speaker 3 (07:16):You already agreed to it, but here's the catch. I don't have a car. I can't drive on 13. So you gotta come get me and take me to all these things. So I made him come and pick me up and go do that. And so that's kind of where I realized like, okay, so if I do this something by myself, I'm obviously gonna make a lot more money. I have to rely on anybody else. I can do the work myself. And so that's when I kind of was like, I got to a point where I actually had a little bit of money. And so I thought I have to figure out how to manage this money the right way. And so I started just kind of doing, taking some small classes doing some college stuff, you know, some community stuff kind of going through and figuring out like, you know, how do I do this? How do I do that? What's the tax side. I mean, you know, what is the tax sides of these mean?  Speaker 2 (07:57):That's cool. Most, most people aren't thinking about that. Well,Speaker 3 (08:00):They're not right. And I think that's the problem is that I don't think that there's enough education for people available. I mean, cause it's out there and you can find it, but how hard is it defined? It's a lot easier to find a dumb video of, you know, a super rich kid online doing something stupid with money. So that's the envision people have in their head and I needed, that's not real. And so I was like, I have to figure out how I can manage this money the right way.Speaker 2 (08:23):I think that came just from like your upbringing and seeing that you guys learned growing up. So you're like, okay, I want to figure out how to like,Speaker 3 (08:29):Yeah, a hundred percent. I don't think my goal in life when I decided that I wanted to be able to make some money. My goal was never to be the richest man in a room. My goal was to be stable. That's all that I wanted. There was so much unstability growing up in a poor family and you know, things just are all over the place. So I wanted the stability of what the money could bring. And so my idea was never to make a lot of money. I mean, in theory, that happens, I guess, where you, you do make good amounts of money being pretty strategic and smart and cautious about what you're doing. But for the most part, it's really just, I wanted the street, the strategic ability to be safe and content, right. Savings accounts, things like that, that most people are like, not important. I can do that later. Well, that's not true. You need to be doing that now.Speaker 2 (09:16):Yeah. That's a good point. And that's cool. And so you were in a, were you already in college at that point or was this still in high school? You're doingSpeaker 3 (09:25):No. So it was, it was still in high school. So the high school that I went to had a a secondary program where they'd ship you out to a college campus, just the slick campus, the community college campus. So I was doing some classes from high school to try and get some of that knowledge that I wanted for that.Speaker 2 (09:40):Okay. That's awesome. And so yeah, especially, I'm sure you can agree with social media and everything. Like you're seeing, you're just seeing people flash the big cars and how many people I mean, I have people I know that just got, make rent, they fancy cars and all that. Just go show it off on social media and then they're not actually making that type of money. Well, yeah,Speaker 3 (10:00):Exactly. It's funny. Cause you, you really see the difference between somebody that has a lot of money and somebody that doesn't right. Like you can tell the difference, you know, and it's about, you know, and I think that's just my, my analytical analytical mind thinking is like my thought process is, is the dude that has more money lives in a normal size house drive normal cars. He's not spending money on frivolous things that he doesn't need. Right. The ones that need to feel like they have more money than everybody else push out the other way. And there's nothing wrong with that. If that's the life you want to live, do it by all means, just make sure you can really afford it.Speaker 2 (10:35):No. Yeah. And what's cool is you guys, won't talk more about this, but you guys are teaching people that like kind of have the best of both worlds. You got your clients that have the nice cars and all of that, you know, getting it probably off a passive income, they were using it like is avoid taxes, things like that. Yeah.Speaker 3 (10:50):Well, and that's yeah, we, we definitely don't want to refrain from people buying the things that they want. Like that's our goal isn't to say live, you know, as frivolously as possible. Like we, I, there was, I had a conversation with a guy yesterday and I was like, you know what? I think the best ideas of what you should do is go buy $140,000 car go buy that Tesla model X, you know, that new plan version just launched. And we went through why it was something that he wanted and I went through why it was actually tax advantaged to him to do that. And so we go through both, both sides of life, obviously there's a fine line to walk amongst. But we're definitely not a group. That's going to say, you know, go buy the Corolla over the Tesla. Like that's not something that we want to do. We want to help you get what you want, get it when you want it and make it work for you the best.Speaker 2 (11:42):Yeah. That's awesome. And yeah. And Austin, how did you get more involved in kind of like, you know, the door to door space and I know you worked with door to door experts, those nails for awhile. So how did, you said you got in the, kind of the financial education, how did you transition into kind of helping the doorstep?Speaker 3 (11:59):Yeah, so-so is actually out consulting some other companies on on financial footings and things like that. The financial foundations, I actually just wrote a book about it. That's going to be launched with a PR company out of Alabama. But so I was, I was kind of doing that. I was, I was, I was consulting those other companies on the financial structures, like the very beginning basics, right? Like the foundations of the financial processes that they were missing. And and I had a guy that I knew that was working at the D experts. He was there in intro CFO. He's just kind of filling in as Sam was trying to find somebody else over at the door to door experts. And and he called me and he's like, Hey, you know, this is a really cool opportunity.Speaker 3 (12:46):I really liked this guy that I'm working for. You should come over and interview with me and see if it's something that you would even really think about. And I was like, okay. Yeah. So I actually went over there to to do that with him. And, and the position that he was looking for was actually a just somebody to kind of help oversee his books and, and do some of this stuff. And all internally, it was all internal when, when I first was over there and I went to him and I was like, Hey man, look, you know, we've had the bootcamps and they, you know, they have these events that everybody's coming to. And I was like, I really think that there's a bigger market for the door to door industry that people just don't know about.Speaker 3 (13:21):I think all these company owners, aren't, aren't realizing how much more they need to pay attention to the financial sides of things. Because I think, and I especially learned in the learning as I'm going through the door to door industry more and more is they're so sales focused, right? Everything that they, everything in their mind can be fixed with more revenue or revenue, more sales like that, that's their job. That's what they're good at. That's what the exact day, no. Or that had exactly that, how to do that. And so we're able to, I was able to say, look, look, there's a secondary system to this. The admin side is no fun. Nobody likes it. But the admin site includes the financial footing. It includes, you know, the staff, they experience like all of these things, the operations that aren't as aren't as known or, or not as practiced.Speaker 3 (14:04):And so I was able to convince Sam, like, we need to come in and do this and I'll go out and do this. And I started traveling, you know, to company, to company. I was going twice a week out to Atlanta, then Washington and Illinois than Idaho, just kind of everywhere. And it really just started to blow up. And so it really became a a staple to the, to the door. And her name is like, Hey, we're not only are we a consulting company, but we're a consulting company that, that helps you with your finances, which is pretty unknown. Like you have to hire somebody basically just to take it over. I was showing these owners how to help them. So not just doing it for them and then leaving them and saying, well, if you want me to do more, it's, you know, another $10,000 or, you know, these, these companies, these CFO guys they're expensive. And so if you could learn to do it by yourself, when you want to, right. I mean, we're all hustlers out here. That's what we're doing. You know, slinging doors is not an easy job, so anything else we can make that easier for that? You don't have to cost you a fortune, you know, we wanted to be able to be a part of that.Speaker 2 (15:04):Awesome. And so I'm sure you had a lot of experiences seeing what people were, I don't know, not focusing on mistakes. I'm sure they were making, is that a lot of these companies, they not even have CFOs and they were just kind of trained to do things. Yeah.Speaker 3 (15:15):So a lot of these companies, they didn't have CFOs, they didn't have bookkeepers, they didn't have anything.Speaker 2 (15:20):Wow. And so you would help them set that up and run it.Speaker 3 (15:24):So I would do a few different things. I think the majority of the companies that will lend to either didn't have QuickBooks or some sort of a CRM or not CRM at some sort of tracking tool for their actual books. And so I helped them kind of figure it out. Some of them did. But I, I worked with the systems they were using and they weren't awesome. And so I would either convince them to switch or I didn't, and, and either way was fine. I, I really have a bias towards QuickBooks. I just know it really well. I got my certification in it because I wanted to be the best at it. And obviously things have changed and I'm probably not the best at it anymore, but you know, there's a point in your career where you don't do some of the things that you used to do really well. Yeah. But aSpeaker 2 (16:03):Cookbook is pretty, pretty, somewhat simple. It'sSpeaker 3 (16:05):Super simple. I mean, it's just really intuitive. Like it knows what the customer experience should be. And so I really liked that, especially with owners that don't want to push a budget to a financial footing or a financial team it really just makes it easy for them to be like, all right, I can set up all this automatically. And then I never have to go back in here. It'll just kind of do it by itself. And so it's really easy to do. You just have to know what you're doing. Yeah.Speaker 2 (16:26):Awesome. And so cool. I know you gained a lot of experience doing that, working with Sam, seeing other companies, I'm sure. Learning from their mistakes, things like that. And now you're a CFO. I hear it's a, you're in, that's the name? Green energy coercion.Speaker 3 (16:40):Okay. And yeah, and then PI send the kid as wellSpeaker 2 (16:43):By any yet. And so yeah, you guys are doing incredible things. We just talked with Josh and Jerry on the podcast who were also part of that. And yeah, it's been really cool seeing how you guys have things set up structured and you really focused on teaching these reps. I was just talking with Josh about not just like selling, but all kinds of aspects of it. And I think you teach your guys the finances, you teach them the social media, teaching their recruiting. That's really cool to see. And so what gave you I guess why, why did you guys start pious indicate and what's what's kind of your whole goal around that. I know you talked a little bit in the beginning, butSpeaker 3 (17:19):Yeah. So I would say the main reason is that is that me and Jerry have been around enough companies to know how much is truthfully going wrong. Even without people knowing what's always wrong. And so just being able to compile a by, you know, I've probably consulted upwards of 200 companies by now. And so being able to see that many different companies doing that many different styles and that many different types I think it's really drove the pie syndicate drive because we were, we were sitting in a room and we were talking about we were actually in St. George at, at Jefferson JKRs office. Well, that's where we first started talking about PI syndicate and doing some of this stuff is, is out there with Jefferson. And we were just talking about, you know, there's so many mistakes they're being made every day that I don't think people know that they're doing anything wrong.Speaker 3 (18:09):And so how do we create a, something that not only it can be an outreach program for them to learn about it, but something that like a mastermind that will really help them learn. And so we developed by syndicate off of all of the bad things that we've seen happen in solar and in past, and, and in roofing, like we took all of the bad things that we could find and all of the things that people didn't know or that we had seen, even if we only had sought once we still brought it to the table. And and so that's kind of where we got the drive for, for PI syndicate. And what we want to do with it is really get the knowledge out there. You know, there are masters masterminds all over the place and, and they're all great. And so I thought, you know, it's not going to be that hard to push one more.Speaker 3 (18:50):That that really is something that truthfully helps people that really makes them, you know, learn and experience things in a different way than they ever have before. And, and I mean, it really is something different. And so we even are so confident in what we're doing. You know, we, we went in to the drawing board and we said, look, we, we want people to know exactly what we're here for. And so we actually do something very unique. You know, when was the last time you were able to go to your CPA and say, Hey, if you don't save me more money than I'm paying you, I'm out,Speaker 2 (19:18):Right. That's a pretty strong guarantee, pretty strongSpeaker 3 (19:22):Guarantee. So we actually guarantee our, our pricing. So if we cannot save you more than what you paid us we'll pay you the difference in what we don't save. You were, we'll, we're willing to put our own money up to bat to say, we know what we're doing, and we know we can do this, let us show you. And if we can't do it, then you're right. And here's, you know, here's that difference backSpeaker 2 (19:42):Incredible. And it's like, why wouldn't you do it with that guarantee? You don't hear it out from CPAs or financing.Speaker 3 (19:48):Never, never. And so we want it to be different. We want him to be able to push our name out there differently. And that's how we've decided that not only do we have the knowledge we know that we do, but you know, a lot of people don't put their money where their mouth is. And so we thought, you know, we're going to be the first to do that.Speaker 2 (20:02):Yeah. Now it's really cool. Cause I've heard a few just, you know, Mikey, you guys hopping on calls with people and it sounds, it seems like it's almost the same exact things they're hearing from their CPA, the exact same thing. Oh, they told me to do this. I'm going to owe this much in taxes. And then you guys are just telling them, you know, the same, it's the same stuff. They hear it from everyone. Cause all that is pretty standardized advice. I mean, they're, they're telling you the same stuff over and over. Yeah.Speaker 3 (20:27):Actually we make jokes and, and we say, you know, CPA firms are like our silent partners. Every time they go and talk to a CPA firm, they always come back and follow up with us and see the difference in and switch over. And so we, we, we, we joke and we call them our pro our silent partners. But but it's true. I mean, we were actually just having a conversation with a guy the other day yesterday. And he went to a CPA and he's like, okay, you've got to spend 150,000 to $200,000 to save 60,000 in taxes, but you're still going to have to pay 40. And me and Jerry just dropped that. We didn't even know what to say. We were, I mean, we were stunned. We were like, that's an incredible observation to give somebody, spend $200,000 to save 60 bucks, but you still have to pay 40,000 times since at the end of the year.Speaker 2 (21:14):Hopefully they have a lot of money.Speaker 3 (21:16):I'm like, that's, I'm, you're, you're talking about, okay, well, if you go spend $260,000, then I can get your tax bill down to authority. How does that make any sense who would want to do that? Who thinks that that was a good idea to, to offer it as a buy. And it's just something that you see every day, the CPAs are doing everything they're supposed to, if they're not doing anything wrong and I'm not talking about it with them in any way whatsoever we've just dedicated and prided ourselves on monitoring the changes that happen when they happen categorizing expenses correctly what the mileage is, right? Offs are things like that. That just, most people don't think to dive deep into that are a really big difference that make a huge difference to not spend the 200 K to save.Speaker 2 (22:03):Huh. Right. Yeah. No, that's really cool. And do you think I mean, like you said, there's a lot of good CPAs out there and I know they're doing, you know, the best with their resources and everything, but do you think it's that they don't have the knowledge on these things or they don't want to like necessarily tell them to do these things?Speaker 3 (22:21):I don't, I don't, I don't know. Honestly, I think that there are definitely CPAs out there that have the knowledge to do it. I do think that the CPA certification itself gives them some pushback on what they can and cannot offer people to do. And so one of the things that we really do differently is we actually have our CPAs on staff. But me and Jerry are not CPA. So we run everything through CPAs, everything is done the right way. Everything is above board. We're Uber transparent with everything that we do to refrain from any sort of auditing. Or if you do get audited, it's knocking the park as long as we've been in it long enough. And we're doing everything that we're supposed to be doing the right way. I mean, there's no way that you're going to fail an audit.Speaker 3 (23:05):It's just not every once in awhile, there's one weird little thing that that gets passed or, you know, something that they find that's just really weird and random, but, you know, for the most part it's, it's pretty solid. Yeah. But I do think that, I think that that's really that I, I don't think that it's still, they don't have all the information. I don't even think that this, they don't want to share the information. I think that there are certain things that they just can't do, or they're not allowed to talk about because they have specific certifications and they don't need to get their certifications taken away. I mean, that's not worth it to do that for them. And I, and I wouldn't suggest they do that either. Yeah,Speaker 2 (23:37):Yeah. No, that's good. That's good stuff. Yeah. Cause it's like, I've worked with a lot of CPAs too. And and some of them have, you know, finance coaching, do they type stuff they do. But the disconnect I've seen too is a lot of times they don't, they're not all communicating with each other. Like, you're talking about how you guys have it kind of your own internal CPAs. You're communicating with them. So everyone's on the same page or they gave me this advice. This is what's going to happen where other you know other CPAs I've worked with like, yeah, I get advice from one thing, but their CPA is not gonna necessarily help me do that. And then me not having good financial knowledge necessarily. I don't, I don't know necessarily how to like explain to them, well, Hey, I want to do this. Or this is what's best because they're just all me kind of the one size fits all stuff.Speaker 3 (24:22):And it's interesting, I think, and one of the things that we do differently than that as well is we're, we're pretty limited on the capacity we want to grow at because I think that's the problem. I don't think that it's, that they're not communicating. I don't think that it's, they don't know what they're doing. I think that they just grow so rapidly. They really just say like, okay, you're one CPA. You handle these 50 clients, but then this other CPA is gonna handle these 50 clients. And when this guy goes on vacation, this guy's kind of picking up that slack. But then there's the disconnect because it's not his actual client. So I think the scaling is just too fast. They just don't know how to keep up with it. They might just add some people do it. Great. I mean, there are massive CPA firms out there that just crush it.Speaker 3 (24:59):I think H and R block is huge. They're nationwide. They're everywhere. Obviously they scaled it up at a very scalable rate, but I feel like for the most part, you know, those are just generalized CPAs. They help random regular people. Yeah. You know, do their taxes and stuff. So they're not really going to go that extra mile for somebody like you, who's on the doors who's knocking, who's got, you know, LLCs and things like that that are quite a bit more to actually function through the actual filing. And so they, you know, they don't really want to do any of that. So they don't push that extra mile to do that, which is fine. They probably don't get paid to do that. Honestly, they don't.Speaker 2 (25:33):Yeah. And that's, what's cool. You guys are guaranteeing it too. I'm sure you guys back in it, it's like, you want to know it it's right.Speaker 3 (25:40):But then that's why we, we do you know, that's why we limit our, our capability of growth is because we know how much we can, we can really truthfully take on and still keep a truck in the way we want to. And so we're, we're pretty particular about who we want to let in and where in the, in the, in the stages that we have. And so it's more along the lines of, we definitely want to help everybody. We can help. But we want you to, we want you to come to us or, and say, Hey, look, this is what I've got is what I have. And then we would, we would literally sit down and do a call with you and say, you know, this is the plan. I think you should be a part of, this is why this is what I think we can help with. And this is how fast I think we can get it done in, in, in addition to the filing and the bookkeeping sides and the white glove service of it. All right. Mikey offers some specific coaching with it that he does with these guys. I mean, he's been on calls with these guys every day, seven days a week. I mean, he'll call it, he'll talk to anybody whenever they want to talk to them.Speaker 2 (26:31):Yeah. I know. He's helped me a ton. And that's, what's so cool about it. You guys have so much personalized attention. It's like weekly follow ups say, is this, how's this going? And yeah, I've never had this much just financial attention from anyone I've worked with. So yeah.Speaker 3 (26:45):And we do, we do some other cool stuff as well. You know, we really want to, to be able to get in person with these people, meet them face to face, have these conversations one-on-one. And so we we're down here in Las Vegas and, and we'll invite people down and want them to come and experience this with us and do these events with us. And the purpose of that is to have those one-on-one conversations, have the ability to sit down and have a personalized conversation about something that's a pretty uncomfortable topic to talk about to most people like you don't want to tell people how much money you make. You don't want to tell people how much trouble you're in or debt. And and that's why we need that personalized edge side to not just be the CPA that they kind of have to tell, but we want to be there, you know, be there and have a friendship aspect to it to be like, listen, dude, we, we got you, we're going to be able to handle it and take care of it. And we're going to be able to make sure that you don't ever have to do this again, but we have to have you tell us the truth. And so we, we need to be able to build that relationship to be there. Yeah.Speaker 2 (27:40):That's awesome. And so walk me through, you guys have people coming on and like if someone wants to start working with you guys, what are some common things you see that like almost no one has said, and I can tell my experience to kind of how to spend, to kind of get onboard and start working with you guys. But if someone signs up by us in to get tomorrow would order kind of the steps you have them go through just to give people a demo. AndSpeaker 3 (28:01):Yeah, absolutely. So, so first thing that we usually have everybody do is do a consultation call with Mikey, Mikey kind of evaluates where you're currently at what you're really thinking you're needing and then what we think we, we can do for you. So Mikey, we'll do an introduction call he'll go through everything that he has in his list to go through. Are you budgeting? Do you have the right account set up? Are you utilizing QuickBooks or some sort of tracking system? Are you, are you budget sizing out everything or just personal, you know, separating out credit cards, things like that. He just goes through all of it with you, just, just on the surface touching base, making sure it's getting done. Right. and that's where we kind of start. And so that allows us to build out a financial group blueprint of sorts to be able to say, okay, well, you know, I think, you know, knowing this information, you know, I think he needs to be in this package and this, and so then we go back to the, the, the client say, okay, this is what we suggest.Speaker 3 (29:04):Obviously they can, they can say no, or they can want a different package than that. And we can have that conversation with them, but we give them our best thought of where they should be and what needs to be done next kind of creating that financial blueprint plan and steps. And so that's kind of where we start in. The onboarding process is actually really good. We've brought on a few other guys. We have a VA, we've got some other guys in Utah that does like three days, three, three times a week. Check-Ins you know, Monday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, really just trying to make sure you're keeping up on all your updates, making sure that, you know, everything that we know at the same time, and then as well, we utilize a really great app that we really love called Pronto.Speaker 3 (29:46):Maybe you've talked about that before, but but we really love it. And we put in me, Jerry, Mikey, any bookkeeper, the CPAs yourself all within that Pronto group set. So any questions you have, anything that could come up, somebody in that chat will be able to answer that and you have access to that chat 24 7. And then we also do some other cool things where we've thrown in a little bit of perks with doubt in the onboarding process, you get a, you get access to an attorney. We've started a a a partnership with a company that'll help with legal troubles, things like that. You know it doesn't happen super often, but if it ever did happen at something that you want that most people don't really think about, you know what, 22 year old kid has a lawyer on retainer, none. So we, we, we S we supplement that out with some of that stuff. Yeah,Speaker 2 (30:36):It's cool. No, it's when I was talking to Mikey, I didn't even know all this stuff you're offering, but it's like just all these different things. You got the attorney they used, he's telling me I'm going to get like some some like body tests. Then he hands me like his biome kid. He's like, yeah, we're going to have you do like a gut test. See where that's at. I'm like, man, I thought you guys were just like doing my taxes or something at first, like you starts going down the lanes, like you're getting an attorney, you're getting, you know, body test. You're getting access to all that. You're getting crypto advice, you're getting investment advice. So it's just like a whole stack of things. And I know that's not in, you know, every package depending on the package and things like that you get. But yeah. So as far as like investments, things like that, water yeah. What are some, how do you get these people started on investments? I'm sure you see what their situation is, but yeah.Speaker 3 (31:22):So yeah, we take what their situation is, what maybe what capital they have on hand or what they plan to have. Maybe they have a big pipeline or something like that on the back end of their waiting for, but there's a few different places that we have. We've, we've developed a really good relationship between me and Jerry on partnerships out there with a specific investment. So right now a really big one that that's just really hitting really hard as a self storage. So we'll actually anybody that comes into us with money will actually another guarantee that we have is a 10% guaranteed our, our year over year on your investment. And me and Jerry willing to back that with our money, because if we're going to put your money somewhere we're obviously going to trust it 110%. We wouldn't put our own money in it. If we wouldn't put your money in, and if we wouldn't put our own money in it. And so we really, really pride ourselves on that as well. So, so we will actually do that 10% guaranteed our, our year over year for any money that you invest with us. And we put into a solar projects, we put into self storage, we put into Touro, anything that you really want to be a part of, we can help you figure out a way to get into that industry. Yeah,Speaker 2 (32:25):That's so cool. Yeah. You guys are putting your money where your mouth is. I mean, you're, you're doing these investments. I know Mike, he has the Turo going. You guys are in real estate, you guys are doing all these things. So it's cool that we're not just hearing them from people that are like, oh no, this should a good idea. It's like actual investments. You're doing yourself. And depending on the package, you get the opportunity to be able to go in on the investments, which is awesome. And I mean, I know all you guys are super successful, got money. So that's, for me, that's where it is, is like go work with the people who have the money or your CPA. They're probably not going to be the richest guy in the room. Yeah.Speaker 3 (33:00):Well, and it, and it's, and it's really cool because, you know, Jerry's, our backgrounds are so different, right? Obviously Mike and Jerry are huge in the solar space, but you know, most of my investments are nowhere near solar. It's, interros, it's in real estate, it's in franchises, it's in all sorts of stuff. And Jerry's knowledge is in completely different aspect of it, right? So Jerry's knowledge really reaches out into solar. He started a very successful solar company. He's, he's done multiple other companies. And so his, his range is, is really something completely different. And then mine is on the other expert under the spectrum where, you know, I definitely have some, some experience and knowledge in the F in the franchise world, but, you know, I love the tech investments. There are high risks, but man, the rewards are just so much better.Speaker 3 (33:44):And so they're not for everybody, but but you know, I just recently did a big test investment that, you know, could pay off exponentially. Well, if it works, but you know what my point is is that all of us are in such different realms of the investment. That we're good at that we really just cover so many different aspects of it. And, and so it really just is a really good team to say, you know, what is it that you want to invest in? We'll figure out how to get you there. We, we know somebody, somebody knows somebody that we know, right. Everybody wants to be that guy. Mike was talking about that yesterday. Like everybody wants to be the guy that's like, oh, I know I got a guy. I know a guy, oh, you need this. I got a guy and we want to be that guy. I want to be that for everybody. And so that's kind of where, where we, where we've developed, why, who is in, ER, excuse me, sorry. That's that's why, who is in by syndicate is who's in, by syndicate is, is because of the knowledge and where that scope looks.Speaker 2 (34:32):Yeah. I love that. And it's cool. Cause you guys, like you said, are doing it mastermind style too. So you're not just, we're not just learning necessarily from you guys, but we're interacting with other people that are super, super successful. We got guys making hundreds, hundreds, thousands, you know, in the millions and all that in the group. So I liked that it's a network in there. We're all hearing about each other's investments and I'm just starting on it. So I can't wait to, you know, follow up on this on a year. See we're having that.Speaker 3 (34:56):I will have to do another podcast in a year and say, okay, show from, start to now, how do you really feel?Speaker 2 (35:01):Yeah, my before and after. Yeah. Broke picture and then picture with all my Teslas and stuff. But yeah, no. So it's cool just to be able to interact with you guys and have you know, that community too, and these community-based and I haven't done events. You guys, you said the package, how many events do you guys plan on doing? For kind of the high level?Speaker 3 (35:26):Yeah. So there's a few different ways that we've looked at it to do it. So I'm, we're, we're really open. We want people to feel as, as to feel like they can come as often as they need. So I think what we've decided is probably once a month we'll invite you guys down to Vegas or somewhere to just get some FaceTime and have those conversations. And then we're, we're, we are going to do two big trips every year with with some of those highest pride member packages. And either, you know, in you know, The Bahamas to buy cryptocurrency or it'll be a mixture between, between a good relief, you know, fun trip, but a knowledgeable trip. So we'll go out and I'll buy cryptocurrency with you guys. Or we'll, we'll bring in a heavy hitter in, in this specific finance field.Speaker 3 (36:11):Like we'll kind of do some of those things that that we've we've been talking about doing a lot of these trips. We haven't really done any of them yet. We're just kind of starting to get the ball rolling, but that's definitely the, you know, the phase two of where we're going with this is, is just blow this up and make this something that we can scale to a really big place. And then and make everybody a lot of money and help with the investment side, help with the tax side and mitigation side, everything. And then the trips will just be a bonus that we're like, okay. You know, every, everybody, every year is going to be looking for, to the pies and to get trips. Like, they'll just be those kinds of trips that everybody's like, man, the price in and keep trips coming up. That's going to be so great.Speaker 2 (36:43):Yeah. I love that. And know, I know, I know you guys can't I mean the cool thing about this, you're probably not going to be able to run it at this level for, depending on how many people get in, because I imagine you get, you know, hundreds of people on this, you can't be that level of attention. So for our listeners, if you are wanting to get, you know, this type of level of attention, they gain in wallets at this price, that's the other thing I know you guys will have to eventually increase prices and all that too. So you heard it here first, if you want to get in while they're still, you know, able to give this level of attention, have these guarantees and all that. I know you're probably always have the guarantees with what you're doing.Speaker 2 (37:23):Absolutely. But getting on this and I don't think you're going to find this level of attention, this level of financial literacy advice, all that stuff that's going on here. So that's our invitation for our listeners and I, Austin, I know you're a, you got guys going out on the doors and get you to hit doors and things like that. So it's cool as you're still involved, you know, in the solar side. So Austin has a ton of water. Yeah. Yeah. He has a ton of understanding of the solar space and he's out knocking, you know, putting his feet to the floor here after this. But for our listeners, those that do want to get in on pipe syndicate and maybe, you know, get on a call with you guys, hear more about it, where can they do that? And how can they connect with you?Speaker 3 (38:04):Yeah. So, so there's a few different ways. You know, we've actually got a lot of guys that just they already follow Mikey Lucas on Instagram. Cause Mikey, Lucas is the solar man to be. And so a lot of people are just DM-ing Mikey Lucas on Instagram at Mikey Lucas. But we also have a webpage that we developed and created just a 3, 1, 4 syndicate dot com. And that's a good place we, we can run through. You can kind of get a good look for, for how we're doing the website should be live next week. We went through and reiterated all the content and kind of did some of that stuff and other well guy built it out for us. Cool. And so next week or so it should be, it should be live, but there's a consultation link in there as well.Speaker 3 (38:49):And then and then you could always even just reach out to Taylor, reach out to somebody on the podcast and say, Hey, I want to get a phone number, call us. I mean, we're, we're just that open with it. Like we'll let anybody give out our phone number or email addresses because we want them to be able to have that that touch point that they want to have. So, you know, if somebody is like, Hey, I was listening to your podcast, I want to get Austin's phone number. Like give it to him and let them call me and we'll have a conversation about it. Cool. All right.Speaker 2 (39:14):We're here to hear Austin, watch a call them every day. But yeah. Especially if you're in the group, but thatSpeaker 3 (39:18):Does mean I'll answer every day, but you can absolutely call it.Speaker 2 (39:22):Yeah. So yeah, we'll link to all that in the show notes. So if you're interested, definitely go check that out. And at the very least go do a call with you, get with these guys. Cause that's, what's cool is even before I had the intention of getting in on this, just a call with my Dean, you guys helped me realize, Hey, at the very least talk to your CPA about this, or like get yourself,Speaker 3 (39:42):Come to a consultation and we'll tell you like, you know, take what our consultation is, come and have a consultation with us. After you talk to your CPA, come, come lock the loader to be like, Hey, this is what my CPA said. See if we really know what we're talking about, see if we can really beat what your CPA said, right. To have those, those calls first and then have our consultation. But there's no, there's no harm in having a consultation because you might learn something that you didn't know. Even if it's one thing. I mean, that's, that's still a takeaway. Yeah.Speaker 2 (40:06):Or like, like we're what happened yesterday. I heard Mikey talking to a guy who I think was the guy who, you know, oh, the 40 grand or whatever. So maybe you're getting ready to do your talk, your taxes. Maybe your CPA is telling you, you're going to owe this much. Might as well talk to them. You get these guys. And you know,Speaker 3 (40:21):If you, if you had something wrong with, you know, something in your house and you knew that it was going to be expensive to fix you, wouldn't you get more than one quote on something rightSpeaker 2 (40:30):Now, exceptSpeaker 3 (40:31):For solar. That's right. That's right. But for anything else, you shop around a little bit, but no, but, but it's the same thing. Like, you know, you, you it's like a dating experience. You're not going to love this first CPA that you ever find it. You're going to have to find a few talk to a few work with a couple, you know, it's dating, you're dating. And so w w we, we hope to win that last date. Right. But but yeah. Have those consultations and, and, and then bring them to us and see what they say and see, see where it is because we, you never know what you're going to find out.Speaker 2 (41:00):Love that. Well, Austin, thanks for coming on the show today. And then last question, before we let you go I don't know, one word of advice, or maybe like some common mistakes that you've seen a lot of I dunno, solar reps or companies make with their finances, any like final words of advice.Speaker 3 (41:17):I mean, there's just so much, it's so hard to pick down, which, you know, which is the best thing. I, I would probably say, you know, one of the number one things that that I see is so many people fight for W2. You know, they think W2's king and they're like it's prepaid, it's makes the filing so much easier. W candidates is not, W2 is not king. There's so little that you can do to help mitigate some of these taxes if you're W2 and yourself. So I would say if you are a W2, if it's something that you've thought about doing 10 and nine is the way to go. And then I would say, you know, the only way to do a 10 99, the one thing most guys don't do is they're just letting they're letting their companies pay their 10 99.Speaker 3 (42:03):We help. And one of the things I definitely recommend is having your own personal company with an LLC attached to a 10 99 or something like that to pay yourself through. Most guys don't know how to do that. Are they, are, they questioned that? And we definitely bring that to the table, but it's not impossible, but that's probably the number one thing that I would say is the biggest overlooked thing is they're not utilizing their own things. Cause they their own companies or things like that for the write offs and, and things like that. They're just letting them pay the 10 99 and they're paying whatever they say they have to pay at the end of the year. And so I would say that's probably the number one thing, advice. The second word of advice is always strive to pay the least amount of taxes. I feel like the government already gets enough money. Do they really need any more? Not from you. Right? They can have somebody else's money. They don't, they don't need my money. So the mindset change of of of not paying taxes is something that most people have to get used to because it's something that people talk about quite a bit. Right. It's everywhere. SoSpeaker 2 (42:59):That's great advice. And guys, I went, when I started in the industry for like my first three years, I didn't know any of this stuff. And I have, like, I was getting paid 10 in night. I didn't even have an LLC set up. None of that.Speaker 3 (43:10):Yeah. So that's probably one of the biggest things. That's probably the, one of the first things that we fix. Every time we come into somebody's books, every time that we sign a new client on our, one of our first questions is okay. Do you have an LLC? What state it is in it? Yeah.Speaker 2 (43:22):Yeah. That's first question. I gotSpeaker 3 (43:23):So and that's exactly. Yeah, it's the truth. So we definitely help utilize that. And so that's one of the biggest things that you can do, because there's just so much that you can write off that people don't know about. Yeah. Just, just by simply opening up an LLC and having the, having your company, whoever you're working for pay that, that's it. Step number one. I mean, it really makes that much of a difference. You still have to know what you're doing and know where to put things, but I mean, it really does make a big difference to do that.Speaker 2 (43:49):Yeah. That's fire. So guys make sure you're getting the right financial advice. Don't take advice from people that don't know what they're doing and look at their bank accounts. If they're broke, don't take advice from broke people, right? So that's what you're going to be doing. If you want to get in pipes in the kit, you're going to be getting advice from people that are making fat stacks from guys that are in the investments themselves guys like Austin. So Austin, thanks again for coming on the show. And I can't wait to see how many people connect with you, but thanks for all you guys are doing for the industry. You're really helping us keep a hold of that money, which isSpeaker 3 (44:20):Thanks for letting me come on. Yeah. If anybody has any questions or any concerns even about by syndicate or anything that you can think of, feel free to to reach out and, and don't be hesitant to, to ask your questions. Like we want to hear them. We want to know what they are. We want to help everybody. Yeah.Speaker 2 (44:34):Much appreciated Austin. Thanks again. And we will talk soon. Hey, Solarpreneurs quick question. What if you could surround yourself with the industry's top performing sales pros, marketers, and CEOs, and learn from their experience and wisdom in less than 20 minutes a day. For the last three years, I've been placed in the fortunate position to interview dozens of elite level solar professionals and learn exactly what they do behind closed doors to build their solar careers to an all-star level. That's why I want to make a truly special announcement about the new learning community, exclusively for solar professionals to learn, compete, and win with top performers in the industry. And it's called the Solciety, this learning community with designed from the ground up to level the playing field to give solar pros access to proven members who want to give back to this community and help you or your team to be held accountable by the industry. Brightest minds four, are you ready for it? Less than $3 and 45 cents a day currently Solciety is open, launched, and ready to be enrolled. So go to Solciety.co To learn more and join the learning experience. Now this is exclusively for Solarpreneur listeners. So be sure to go to solciety.co and join. We'll see you on the inside. 

In this episode, the guys chat with Chérie of the Little CPA. She breaks down the tax code and ways that you can reduce your taxes. They discuss taxes on cryptocurrency, stocks, and more. Tune in! Learn more about Chérie and the Little CPA at www.thelittecpa.com More about our guest: Chérie is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 10 years of Public Accounting Experience. She was recently named one of the AICPA's 40 Under 40 Black CPAs, and she is 1 of 29 young CPAs accepted into the AICPA's 2020 Leadership Academy. Outside of work, she serves on the Board of Directors for a local performing arts nonprofit and an economic development nonprofit . She is the founder of The Little CPA, an educational platform that helps thriving professionals make wise financial decisions. *This episode is sponsored by Audible. Sign up here for a free trial to listen to amazing books. http://audibletrial.com/30tolife --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/30tolifepod/support

Sponsors OnPay: https://cloudaccountingpodcast.promo/onpay CenterCard:  https://cloudaccountingpodcast.promo/center Relay Financial: https://cloudaccountingpodcast.promo/relayNeed CPE? Subscribe to the Earmark Accounting Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.comGet CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark CPE: https://earmarkcpeShow Notes0:07 – Happy After Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for!  1:21 – Listener Mail – Are we really “anti-Desktop”? Thank you for your feedback, Peg! 1:48 – Defending Anti-Desktopness 5:35 – Is the Customer Really Always Right?  6:31 – Listener Mail – How the Feed the Pig campaign keeps the younger generation from becoming CPAs. Thanks, Eric!  7:27 – Tips for Promoting the Feed the Pig Savings Messagehttps://us.aicpa.org/volunteer/financialliteracyresourcecenter/ftp-tipsforpromoting 8:37 – The Subreddit – r/Accountinghttps://www.reddit.com/r/Accounting/ 9:44 – More on Theoretical v. Practical Training 13:15 – Listener Mail – A Professor's Take on Real-World Experience. Thank you, Jennifer!  13:49 – Tweet from Jennifer Johnson, CPAhttps://twitter.com/JENJOHNSONCPA/status/1464604351985561617 15:20 – Why Not Work AT School?  17:51 – Director of Finance - Amulet Estate Wineryhttps://www.winebusiness.com/classifieds/winejobs/?go=listing&listingid=218327 18:38 – Assistant Controller - ODELL BREWING COMPANYhttps://www.brewbound.com/jobs/57212-Assistant-Controller-Odell-Brewing-Company 21:05 – Accountants press IRS for faster refunds and responses | Accounting Todayhttps://www.accountingtoday.com/news/accountants-press-irs-for-faster-refunds-and-responses 24:06 – AmEx Pitched Business Customers a Tax Break That Doesn't Add Uphttps://www.wsj.com/articles/amex-pitched-business-customers-a-tax-break-that-doesnt-add-up-11637587980 29:32 – AmEx Fires Workers Over Payments Sales Pitches – CFOhttps://www.cfo.com/tax/2021/11/amex-fires-workers-over-payments-sales-pitches/ 30:19 – IRS plans to award $2.6B app development contract in Q1 of fiscal 2023https://www.fedscoop.com/irs-plans-to-award-2-6b-app-development-contract-in-q1-of-fiscal-2023/ 31:53 – Congress widens PPP fraud probe to more online financial companieshttps://news.yahoo.com/congress-widens-ppp-fraud-probe-140022824.html PPP companies Blueacorn, Womply added to congressional probehttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/11/23/ppp-companies-blueacorn-womply-added-congressional-probe/8730237002/ 34:44 – B2B Spend Management Startup Payhawk Closes $112M Series Bhttps://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2021/b2b-spend-management-startup-payhawk-closes-112m-series-b/ 35:06 – Australian software firm simPRO raises $350 mln in new funding | Reutershttps://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/australian-software-firm-simpro-raises-350-mln-new-funding-2021-11-23/ 36:11 – Story within the Story – simPRO Acquired ClockShark!  37:25 – 6 lessons from audit experts who adopted AI earlyhttps://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2021/nov/6-lessons-audit-experts-adopted-ai-early.html 39:07 – Sage launches new platform to help launch and power up Accountantshttps://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2021/11/24/sage-launches-new-platform-to-help-launch-and-power-up-accountants/ 40:18 – How to Build Stronger Relationships With Colleagues in the Zoom Erahttps://www.wsj.com/articles/build-stronger-relationships-on-zoom-11637608490 44:30 – David's Big, Poofy, Sad Problem

Billions of dollars are being poured into build-to-rent communities and the industry is booming! Are developers able to keep up with demand for new rental homes? How long will it take to balance demand with supply? Is “now” the time to invest in this kind of rental property? Or maybe developers are overestimating future demand for this kind of rental and will end up flooding the market?In this episode, you'll hear from housing market economist Brad Hunter on this mushrooming segment of the real estate industry. Brad has been doing market analysis for 35 years and has conducted hundreds of housing demand studies at national and local levels. His market insights are available for builders, developers, investors, and lenders through his company, Hunter Housing Economics, in West Palm Beach, Florida. His opinions and forecasts are also widely covered in the media. Past positions include chief economist and national director of consulting at Metrostudy, managing director at RCLCO, and chief economist for HomeAdvisor.Brad was recently quoted in the following articles:Building and Renting Single-Family Homes Is Top-Performing Investment - WSJBuilt-to-Rent Suburbs Are Poised to Spread Across the U.S. - WSJThis is a piece he wrote as a special contribution to Forbes:Ten Billion Reasons Why There Is A Built-For-Rent Land Rush - ForbesYou can also follow him on Twitter: @bradleyhunterThanks for listening to the Real Wealth Show! Like what you hear? Subscribe to the Real Wealth Show on Apple Podcasts (or all other major platforms) and leave a rating and review, we really appreciate it!And if you haven't yet, join RealWealth for free today at www.realwealthshow.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending November 27th, 2021... the winter forecast for home sales, what investors are doing with their money, and who's suing lawmakers over real real estate “love letters.”Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.Economic NewsWe begin with economic news from this past week, and a Fed that's growing more concerned about inflation. Central bank officials still believe that prices will rise more slowly next year, but they are acknowledging that inflation pressures could last longer than they anticipated because of labor and supply chain shortages. These issues have pushed the yearly inflation rate to a 32-year-high of 6.2%. If you recall, inflation was close to “zero” about a year ago. The situation could prompt the Fed to begin the tapering of its bond-buying program “before” the end of this year. It has been buying $120 billion in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities as an economic stimulus. (1)High prices are not preventing consumers from spending money. They have extra cash to spend from pandemic savings along with higher wages and bigger paychecks. That pushed consumer spending up 1.3% in October. According to MarketWatch, about half of the increase is due to inflation, so spending is up about .7%. (2)The latest unemployment report shows the number of people applying for state benefits is now “below” pre-pandemic levels. The Labor Department says initial applications dropped to 199,000 the week before Thanksgiving. That's the lowest level since November of 1969. The number of continuing claims also dropped to a pandemic low of about 2.05 million. (3)New home sales continue to rise. They were up .4% in October, according to the Commerce Department. The median price of a home is now $407,700. That's a new record high. The report also shows that builders are pumping new homes into the market. The supply was up 3.3% to a 6.3-month supply. (4)The sale of existing homes also rose in October, because of high demand, but buyers are still dealing with a lack of supply and higher prices. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales were up .8% between September and October, to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.34 million. That's also 5.8% lower than the year-ago numbers. (5)Despite the low unemployment figures and the amount of consumer spending, consumer sentiment has now dipped to a 10-year low. The University of MIchigan index dropped from 71.7 in October to 67.4 in November. Consumers are mostly concerned about inflation, and a lower standard of living because of those higher prices. (6)Mortgage RatesMortgage rates held steady last week. Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.1%. The 15-year is up 3 basis points to 2.52%. (7)In other news making headlines…Cold Winter, Hot Housing MarketThe typical winter slowdown for home sales is probably not going to happen this year. Economists from realtor.com and the National Association of Realtors expect strong demand to continue right through the holidays into next year. (8)Realtor.com's Danielle Hale says the demand continues and that “sellers can expect to see plenty of buyers” while NAR's Lawrence Yun expects “more sales compared to pre-pandemic winters going back all the way to 2006.”In addition to this persistent demand for housing, supply chain issues have delayed some buyers who will continue to search for their dream homes this winter. The limited inventory will also give seller's an incentive to put their homes on the market.Investor Buying SpreeInvestors are also very busy. Redfin reports that investor purchase activity for residential property is up 80% in the third quarter compared to a year ago. It says that investors bought 18% of all the homes sold in Q3, and spent a record $64 billion. If you translate that into the number of homes purchased by investors, the total was a record 90,215 homes. Almost 75% of them were single-family homes. That's also an all-time high. (9)Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari says: “Increasing home prices fueled by an intense housing shortage have created opportunities for investors to reap big profits.” Average monthly rents were up almost 11% year-over-year in September. That's the fastest rent growth in at least two years.Which cities are attracting most of the investor activity? Atlanta; Phoenix; Charlotte, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Miami. You can see the full list in the Redfin report. We'll have that link in the show notes.Love Letter LawsuitAn Oregon real estate firm is suing state lawmakers over a ban on homebuyer “love letters.” Those love letters typically offer details about the buyers that could lead to a biased decision by the seller. And that could violate fair housing laws. (10)The plaintiffs at Total Real Estate Group are calling the ban “censorship.” They say the ban is based on mere speculation that sellers might sometimes rely on information in these letters to discriminate based on a protected class.” The Oregon law is the first of its kind, and is set to take effect in January.That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!You can also join RealWealth for free at newsforinvestors.com. As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/some-on-fed-thought-faster-pace-of-tapering-bond-buys-was-warranted-meeting-minutes-show-11637781873?mod=the-fed2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-consumer-spending-sizzles-in-october-and-its-not-just-all-high-inflation-11637766739?mod=economic-report3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-u-s-weekly-jobless-claims-11637759464?mod=economic-report4 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-inch-higher-in-october-116377673515 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/existing-home-sales-rise-slightly-as-demand-remains-strong-for-housing-11637593477?mod=economic-report6 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-umich-consumer-sentiment-survey-11637765079?mod=economic-report7 -http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/8 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/11/24/yun-expect-an-unseasonably-hot-winter-for-home-sales9 -https://www.redfin.com/news/investor-home-purchases-q3-2021/10 -https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/11/22/brokerage-sues-oregon-over-ban-on-buyer-love-letters

Congress is tinkering with the rules for IRA accounts. It's part of a crackdown on individuals with millions in their retirement accounts, tax free. According to the Senate Finance Committee, the number of mega IRAs has grown substantially in the last decade. In 2011, there were about 8,000 taxpayers with $5 million or more in their accounts. In 2019, the data shows more than 28,000 taxpayers had that much in their accounts, and another 500 taxpayers with much more than that. (1) The legislation has set off alarm bells among investors who use self-directed IRAs to buy real estate.In this episode, Kaaren Hall joins me to talk about the proposed legislation and the changes that lawmakers are likely to adopt. She is the founder and CEO of UDirect IRA Services which provides self-directed account management. She started the company in the midst of the Great Recession after the stock market crashed. She's been helping people move their retirement funds into self-directed IRAs since then, so they can invest in things like real estate, land, startups, and more. Before that, she spent 20 years in mortgage banking, real estate, and property management.If you'd like to learn more about self-directed IRAs and real estate investing, you'll find articles on our website at realwealthshow.com. While you are there, please sign up. It's free and will give you access to our Investor Portal where you can view sample properties and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more.And please remember to subscribe to our podcast and leave a review if you like what you hear! Thank you!