Save a Million Dollars in Taxes with Apartments

Death and taxes are the two things you can count on in life. But, there is no need to pay a penny more than you owe. And, while we talk a lot about ways you can grow wealth and do bigger deals faster, today we’re talking about how to reduce one of your biggest expenses … taxes.

With tax reform and other favorable policies for real estate investors, now is the time to look at your strategy and make some changes to reduce your liability.

This week’s guest did just that … he took a piece of advice from our Summit at Sea and turned it into a BIG win. After making a big apartment deal, he saved over $1 million in taxes across ALL his earnings.

Remember, we aren’t tax or legal professionals. We think you’ll get some great insight from this story. But, when it comes to your OWN personal tax situation, be sure to find a pro to guide you.

In this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ show you’ll hear from:

Your tax-wise host, Robert Helms
His tax-free co-host, Russell Gray
Guest, Brad Sumrok, apartment investor and coach

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Real estate investment returns are more than just cash

When we buy investment property, we most often look at the cash return. But, there are so many other benefits and things to consider when looking at a deal:

Cash flow. This is the big one. You want more income than expenses.
Long-term capital appreciation. The equity in the property gets bigger as the loan gets smaller.
Amortization. Every month you’re paying principal and interest, and your principal is decreasing.
Tax benefit. The government wants to incentivize real estate investment, and there’s a HUGE opportunity to reduce your liability.

Why look at your taxes now? For the first time since the ’80s, Congress has made significant changes to the tax code.

We definitely don’t suggest letting the tax tail wag the investment dog, but this year is the perfect time to dive deeper.

But, definitely don’t go at this alone. The best thing you can do is seek out an expert to guide you through these tax changes and give you the best advice for your specific situation.

Saving a million in taxes … it’s possible

Brad Sumrok is a long-time friend and a well-known player in the apartment investing space. He has thousands of doors and teaches students how to syndicate and buy into big apartment deals.

He also has an AMAZING story to tell about how he recently saved big on his taxes.

“I had a goal in the past that I wanted to pay $1 million in taxes,” Brad said.

But, he recently realized that just because he was earning more, it didn’t mean he had to PAY more in taxes. And he learned how to look at real estate as more than just appreciation and cash flow but also as a way to reduce his liability.

But first, let’s talk more about the deal.

Brad was evaluating a deal for a 124-unit apartment building. The returns were on the lower end of what his threshold is, and he almost walked away.

But, after taking into consideration the tax savings earned from depreciation, Tom realized that a marginal deal was actually a fantastic deal.

One of the reasons this deal worked out so well was because of bonus depreciation. While apartment buildings have a depreciation period of 27.5 years, for certain improvements and components, you can take 100 percent of the depreciation in the first year you own a property.

Since the bonus depreciation wasn’t subject to passive loss limitations, Brad was able to use the depreciation loss to offset their total income … which meant he saved $1.2 million!

“It took a marginal deal and turned it pretty much into a home run,” Brad said.

Taking hold of a good idea

After you read Brad’s story, remember not to get too caught up in the numbers. Every deal and tax situation is different.

But, what Brad did was remarkable. He took a conversation he had with an expert at one of our events and put it into action.

What is the value of one great idea or one good relationship? You never know what you don’t know. Put yourself in a position to find that great idea and explore it.

Sitting in a seminar room, attending a webinar, or listening on a phone call will never be enough. Putting an idea into practice is what saved Brad thousands of dollars, earning the cost of his attendance at an event several times over!

If you want more exposure to new people and new ways of doing things, we invite you to attend Brad’s Apartment Investor Mastery National Conference on August 18.

The Guys will be there talking about apartment investing and it’s sure to be a valuable, exciting event. Register by going to the events section on our website or sending an email to bradconference [at] realestateguysradio [dot]com.

We hope to see you there!

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