Survey finds commercial real estate investors missing out on valuable
information
MIAMI, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The advice of certified public accountants
is often overlooked when it comes to real estate investments, a recent survey
of the accounting profession has found. This oversight can cost investors
valuable tax savings.
One key finding of the survey of almost 700 CPAs was that clients do not
tap their CPAs' knowledge of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. This
section of the tax code allows buyers and sellers of commercial property to
defer capital gains taxes by rolling the proceeds from a sale into another
investment property of equal or greater value. While the majority of the CPAs
surveyed said that they are familiar with the tax deferral benefits of Section
1031, almost half of them are not advising their clients to execute this
transaction. The reason, according to a quarter of the CPAs polled, is that
they are not consulted on real estate transactions until after their
completion.
A real estate attorney with three decades of experience expressed surprise
at the finding and urged investors to use all the resources at their disposal
when making commercial real estate investment decisions.
"Recognizing that your CPA has helpful knowledge of real estate tax issues
can be critical," said Stephen A. Wayner, vice president of Bayview Financial
Exchange Services. "Clients who do not avail themselves of this counsel until
it is too late miss out on opportunities to build equity and increase their
net worth."
Most CPAs can provide basic information on 1031 exchanges, as these
transactions are called. Many can direct investors to qualified
intermediaries, independent third parties recognized by the Internal Revenue
Service as facilitators of 1031 exchanges.
"As tax experts, CPAs understand tax deferral strategies for commercial
real estate transactions and can advise on 1031 Exchanges," said Wayner.
"Many investors remain unaware of this profitable option without that kind of
advice."
About Bayview Financial
Bayview Financial Exchange Services, also known as Bayview 1031, is a
subsidiary of Bayview Financial, L.P., a full service real estate and mortgage
investment company with more than $7 billion in assets. Bayview and its
subsidiaries deliver a wide array of products, including the origination of
small-balance commercial real estate loans, the purchase of residential and
commercial real estate loans, the investment in and development of commercial
real estate, and the provision of 1031 exchange services to real estate
investors. Bayview sources its business through a network of thousands of
financial institutions, mortgage companies, third party brokers and advisors.
About the Survey
The "1031 Exchange Programs Awareness Survey" was conducted between Feb. 8
and Feb. 22, 2005. Randomly selected readers of the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants' CPA Insider(TM) e-newsletter were sent a
10-question survey about their familiarity with 1031 property exchange
programs and other tax deferral strategies via email. A total of 690 surveys
were satisfactorily completed. The survey was sponsored by Bayview 1031.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Syd Steinhardt
Peppercom
(212) 931-6138
ssteinhardt@peppercom.com
BUSINESS CONTACT:
Tamika Nurse
Bayview Financial Exchange Services, LLC
(305) 631-6264
tnurse@bayview1031.com
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