Things That Are Bullsh*t (24 Viewers)

TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
I'm somewhat confused by all this. If the "average Joe" with nothing but a W-2 is paying someone to prepare their tax returns, then either a) they're an idiot, or b) they're paying an exorbitant amount to get their refund a few weeks early. So they're still an idiot.

There are plenty (last time a checked) of sites where medium to low income taxpayers can submit their returns for free. I've always assumed these were mandated by our government. Every once in a while they actually do get something right... I prefer to purchase the software myself. Usually about $30 and I get e-filing for my return and a couple of family members. You should probably have a basic understanding of how taxes work, so maybe that's giving more benefit of the doubt than most common folk deserve. But for the most part, I think it's a needed service for some, and one that can be avoided by many.

I'm all for the realtor rant. They make WAAAY too much for the service they provide. I'm really surprised there aren't more that try to get into the game by cutting the amount of the commission in an effort to increase volume.
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Fair, 100%.

Without getting into specifics we owed a substantial amount this year, semi planned.

I went to a tax professional because I have questions for future years and there’s only so much I trust my own google-fu.

Asked, how much do I need to retain in ownership in order to maintain basis and recognize the companies/mine accumulated losses? This lady, who supposedly specializes in small business “I don’t know”. Asks another cpa there who took a guess. What?

We’ve always filed jointly. Special circumstances this year lead me to save an extremely large amount on taxes next year (like my annual salaries worth). We’d owe a bit more on my wife’s, but savings would be huge.

I asked, is there any downside to filing seperate? Her response was, I always recommend filing jointly and you’d owe more on hers.

I tried for 15 minutes to get an actual answer on the implications, but couldn’t get an answer.

Granted, this is more a gripe about a specific CPA/company, but we’re filing basic ish - W2s, K1s, pretty much 0 deductions.

I’m a big process improvement/change mgmt guy, so my distaste for unnecessary red tape and opaqueness is my number 1 soapbox.

I don’t mind cpas, I hate the tax system.

But let’s keep the focus here, realtors/realty system are the low hanging fruit to b***h about. For the majority of cases, there is literally no need for them. I have done my hw there, but I agree I need far more education in ALL of these areas. Working on it.
 
BarrieJ3 said:
Fair, 100%.

Without getting into specifics we owed a substantial amount this year, semi planned.

I went to a tax professional because I have questions for future years and there’s only so much I trust my own google-fu.

Asked, how much do I need to retain in ownership in order to maintain basis and recognize the companies/mine accumulated losses? This lady, who supposedly specializes in small business “I don’t know”. Asks another cpa there who took a guess. What?

We’ve always filed jointly. Special circumstances this year lead me to save an extremely large amount on taxes next year (like my annual salaries worth). We’d owe a bit more on my wife’s, but savings would be huge.

I asked, is there any downside to filing seperate? Her response was, I always recommend filing jointly and you’d owe more on hers.

I tried for 15 minutes to get an actual answer on the implications, but couldn’t get an answer.

Granted, this is more a gripe about a specific CPA/company, but we’re filing basic ish - W2s, K1s, pretty much 0 deductions.

I’m a big process improvement/change mgmt guy, so my distaste for unnecessary red tape and opaqueness is my number 1 soapbox.

I don’t mind cpas, I hate the tax system.

But let’s keep the focus here, realtors/realty system are the low hanging fruit to b***h about. For the majority of cases, there is literally no need for them. I have done my hw there, but I agree I need far more education in ALL of these areas. Working on it.
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This has been my experience as well. We have gone to a tax professional that only wanted to fill out the forms for us. I can write a number down, tell me how to make the numbers play better in my favor.

Nope.

While I dislike the idea of a 2-line tax form (what did you make, and what is x% of that), the tax system of loopholes that nobody will tell an average Joe how to exploit makes the game more frustrating than Derailment.
 
Poker Zombie said:
This has been my experience as well. We have gone to a tax professional that only wanted to fill out the forms for us. I can write a number down, tell me how to make the numbers play better in my favor.

Nope.

While I dislike the idea of a 2-line tax form (what did you make, and what is x% of that), the tax system of loopholes that nobody will tell an average Joe how to exploit makes the game more frustrating than Derailment.
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It’s a club, and we’re definitely not in it.

I’m trying to determine what the rest of my working life looks like 2026 and onward, and I’m really tied to the idea of consulting/advocacy in my subject expertise (which isn’t that great or impactful, but it’s a tiny subject that definitely needs it).

If I can’t draw a line between my work and direct impact on end user/helping someone, I’ll end up failing or quitting. Motivational fit and leadership are by far my top two important things in any job. Blows my mind that that doesn’t seem to be the case for many, but that’s just my subjective view.

I straight walked out on a super kush, potentially low stress, work from home job that was twice what I had previously made on principle :wtf:

Here’s to hoping it wasn’t a fluke and betting on myself doing it again wasn’t a mistake…

Edit - these posts tend to not make friends and I should prob just stfu with my holier than thou soapbox bullsh*t. But I do earnestly believe it, despite being just as flawed as the professionals I complain about.
 
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Taxact. Enter your info, play around with filing separate or jointly. I’d advise anyone that has semi complicated taxes to use a decent tax program, and if you have questions or are unsure at least you’ve stepped through the process yourself and can ask intelligent questions and weigh possible decisions based on being informed.

It’s really not that complicated if you try. But if you buy into The Narrative, like a lot of you do, that “taxes are hard” and develop the attitude of “just take my money because I heard this is complicated”, well I’m sure that The Narrative cause problems in other areas of your life.

“I just want the TV to tell me the truth and I just want to throw money at my problems and they disappear” isn’t going to take you far in life.

Of course you will have issues with this, because you are in your 30-40’s and “have a lifetime of experience” and oldsters just don’t understand the world today because somehow our “lifetime of experience” was in a different reality than yours.
 
BarrieJ3 said:
Fair, 100%.

Without getting into specifics we owed a substantial amount this year, semi planned.

I went to a tax professional because I have questions for future years and there’s only so much I trust my own google-fu.

Asked, how much do I need to retain in ownership in order to maintain basis and recognize the companies/mine accumulated losses? This lady, who supposedly specializes in small business “I don’t know”. Asks another cpa there who took a guess. What?
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Unfortunately, finding a good tax accountant is sorta like finding a good auto mechanic. There are a lot of accountants that have no business working in tax planning or consulting. They know how to enter the numbers into the program, and a few basic concepts. But throw a real world question at them and you get a blank stare back, or some mumbo jumbo that doesn't make you feel very good about their ability to explain, much less feel confident that they even understand themselves.
BarrieJ3 said:
We’ve always filed jointly. Special circumstances this year lead me to save an extremely large amount on taxes next year (like my annual salaries worth). We’d owe a bit more on my wife’s, but savings would be huge.

I asked, is there any downside to filing seperate? Her response was, I always recommend filing jointly and you’d owe more on hers.

I tried for 15 minutes to get an actual answer on the implications, but couldn’t get an answer.
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There may be a very few situations where filing when separately you could come out ahead, but I couldn't tell you what those are. The tax tables and deduction structures are set up to favor filing jointly. She should have at least been able to tell you that.
BarrieJ3 said:
Granted, this is more a gripe about a specific CPA/company, but we’re filing basic ish - W2s, K1s, pretty much 0 deductions.

I’m a big process improvement/change mgmt guy, so my distaste for unnecessary red tape and opaqueness is my number 1 soapbox.

I don’t mind cpas, I hate the tax system.
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Yup, it's ridiculously and unnecessarily complicated. Just like the rest of our federal government.
BarrieJ3 said:
But let’s keep the focus here, realtors/realty system are the low hanging fruit to b***h about. For the majority of cases, there is literally no need for them. I have done my hw there, but I agree I need far more education in ALL of these areas. Working on it.
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In my opinion, the biggest issue is on the buy side. The sell side realtors do far more work, and probably deserve most of their half of the commission. My last house took 13 months to sell. But any time I've bought a new house, I probably did 80% of the work to find properties myself. All the realtor did was set up appointments, meet me at the houses, and then sign a few papers at closing. Maybe give a little advice on negotiating the best price, but in the end, I always made my own decision on that as well.
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
In my opinion, the biggest issue is on the buy side.
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This.

In Texas at least there is no reason you need an agent when buying. Do a little research, get the comp listings, find out what to look out for and you can also download/print off the TREC offer form, which is not that complicated at all. The rest of the closing, paperwork, etc. is done on the seller's side and by whomever you obtain the purchase loan, if needed, from.

I handled the purchase side when we bought our home. You have to do a little legwork setting up visits to homes yourself, but for 1.5% off the sales price that is well worth it. The most unpleasant part was dealing with sketchy realtors. Tell them upfront you are handling the buy side and that you are going to take 1.5% off the final agreed price as your "commission". If they balk, argue with you, try to tell you that is illegal, etc. you know you are dealing with a sketchy scammer.

IMO most of them want another realtor on the other side because they know convincing one side or the other of a $20,000 swing in purchase price to them is only $300 each, but to the buyer or seller, it is real money. They can blow smoke about how they have a fiduciary duty to you but that is some BS. They just want to close the deal and take their money. They would rather convince you to offer more or take less in order to line their own pockets and get the deal done.

The good ones will tell you "no problem" when you represent yourself because it literally impacts nothing that occurs during a regular sale (other than knowing you are going to be harder to negotiate a final price with). They get their 1/2 the commission, you just get a benefit of the other 1/2 that would have been coming out of the sale anyway. I have very little respect for that profession after dealing with them personally when buying my house. I would use one if selling b/c that is a little more involved, but they are overpaid as well.
 
I think one of the biggest differences between back in the day and now, is that ALL the information Is online.

Running comps, seeing histories, the mls, yadda yadda yadda. I got a buddy who is realty adjacent - him and his brother do some light investment/flip stuff and he worked in industry. Everything needed he has access to, 0 subject matter expertise needed. I always ask him to run numbers, confirm/deny what I’m hearing/seeing, and thumbs up/down on pricing if we find a house we’re serious on.

The main thing (from my view) a realtor provides today is knowledge on the area (which can be immensely helpful, but should not be a middle man job in and of itself).
 
Tonysquander said:
This.

In Texas at least there is no reason you need an agent when buying. Do a little research, get the comp listings, find out what to look out for and you can also download/print off the TREC offer form, which is not that complicated at all. The rest of the closing, paperwork, etc. is done on the seller's side and by whomever you obtain the purchase loan, if needed, from.

I handled the purchase side when we bought our home. You have to do a little legwork setting up visits to homes yourself, but for 1.5% off the sales price that is well worth it. The most unpleasant part was dealing with sketchy realtors. Tell them upfront you are handling the buy side and that you are going to take 1.5% off the final agreed price as your "commission". If they balk, argue with you, try to tell you that is illegal, etc. you know you are dealing with a sketchy scammer.

IMO most of them want another realtor on the other side because they know convincing one side or the other of a $20,000 swing in purchase price to them is only $300 each, but to the buyer or seller, it is real money. They can blow smoke about how they have a fiduciary duty to you but that is some BS. They just want to close the deal and take their money. They would rather convince you to offer more or take less in order to line their own pockets and get the deal done.

The good ones will tell you "no problem" when you represent yourself because it literally impacts nothing that occurs during a regular sale (other than knowing you are going to be harder to negotiate a final price with). They get their 1/2 the commission, you just get a benefit of the other 1/2 that would have been coming out of the sale anyway. I have very little respect for that profession after dealing with them personally when buying my house. I would use one if selling b/c that is a little more involved, but they are overpaid as well.
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I don’t think it works like that anymore. They recently changed how the commission practice works. Buyers realtors now now have to negotiate a commission with the seller - or their buyer if the seller won’t pay a commission. Buyers realtors don’t automatically get 1/2 of any commission anymore.
 
ekricket said:
I don’t think it works like that anymore. They recently changed how the commission practice works. Buyers realtors now now have to negotiate a commission with the seller - or their buyer if the seller won’t pay a commission. Buyers realtors don’t automatically get 1/2 of any commission anymore.
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There was a recent change as a result of a lawsuit over shady practices between buying and selling agents and the "standard" commission. I remember seeing a bunch of them whining locally about their gravy train ending. Technically, I don't know that you were ever legally required to pay them a certain commission, it was always negotiable, they just closed ranks in the past and tried to make people believe it was red letter law.
 
Tonysquander said:
There was a recent change as a result of a lawsuit over shady practices between buying and selling agents and the "standard" commission. I remember seeing a bunch of them whining locally about their gravy train ending. Technically, I don't know that you were ever legally required to pay them a certain commission, it was always negotiable, they just closed ranks in the past and tried to make people believe it was red letter law.
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People just need to understand that if they are acting as their own buyer they are not automatically saving or getting any commission.
The sellers agent will just keep it all now. The sellers agent now negotiate a commission with their client and it is separate and has nothing to do with what the buyer is doing with their realtor or themselves.
 
ekricket said:
People just need to understand that if they are acting as their own buyer they are not automatically saving or getting any commission.
The sellers agent will just keep it all now. The sellers agent now negotiate a commission with their client and it is separate and has nothing to do with what the buyer is doing with their realtor or themselves.
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They are saving that money if they have any sense. If the buyer's agent thinks he is walking away with any more than 1.5% in a transaction with me, he is not making the sale. A good one will be fine with it. I would give them their previously normal amount but nothing more and even less if I can negotiate it.
 
I’m not here to judge. Like poker chips, we all like what we like! I’m just trying to find my people.

I’m good with 10 person .25 hold em (I guess) if we can still have taco trucks and tattoo artists at the game.
 
BarrieJ3 said:
I’m not here to judge. Like poker chips, we all like what we like! I’m just trying to find my people.

I’m good with 10 person .25 hold em (I guess) if we can still have taco trucks and tattoo artists at the game.
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that sounds like a great time
 
Death Wish
[td]Death Wish

[td]By Brian Garfield
“One hell of a book” (Robert Ludlum): After his wife and daughter are brutally attacked in their home, Paul Benjamin goes rogue to ensure justice is served. An Edgar Award–winning writer pens this “scary novel about life and death” (The New York Times) that was adapted into a film starring Bruce Willis.


This, from someone who can't be bothered to look beyond the first google return they get :rolleyes:
 

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