Dolinski Group

Susan, a real estate agent, spent the last eight weeks anxiously waiting to hear from her tax accountant. It’s the first time she has ever had to keep track of her income and expenses. She has been used to her 9-to-5 job sending out her w-2 in January.

Her taxes are finally done. All she needs to do is come to the office and sign the paperwork.

As she drives to the tax office, she begins smiling. Feeling a sense of relief. For a second, she lets out a big exhale and feels her grip on the steering wheel start to relax.

A lot of the tension she has been carrying for the past few months is released from her body.

It has been a tough winter and a slow real estate season.

She didn’t sell enough homes and she found herself behind on some bills.

For the last few weeks she has been floating bills and expenses with credit cards or by pushing off her broker’s desk fees month after month.

Luckily, her broker has been lenient about fees, but her balance is growing and growing. The balance was starting to feel like a crushing weight. As if she was being buried alive. Shovel of dirt by shovel of dirt.

The tax return is meant to be her saving grace. She can catch back up on her bills and have a big spring season.

It’s going to cost Susan about $200 for her real estate business taxes, a price she says is “well worth it to not have to worry.”

She walks into the tax office with her head up. With a feeling of hope. She can achieve her dream. Her dream of being a real estate agent represents so much more than a career change. It’s a new life. It represents an opportunity of freedom, autonomy, and a life away from the 9-to-5 grind stressors.

Her accountant hands her the tax return. She frantically flips through the pages searching for her refund amount.

Found it…

…Susan’s heart sinks to the bottom of her stomach. In an instant, a million thoughts race through her mind. She’s overcome with greater sadness and worry.

Where is she going to come up with the money to pay the balance she owes the IRS? It turns out, Susan isn’t getting a refund. Rather, she owes a significant amount of money to the IRS.

She knows the IRS isn’t going to extend her the same generosity her broker has. They are going to want their payment.

Susan’s mind starts to race through the pending transactions and leads in her pipeline. With her back of the napkin math, she figures it’s going to take her six months to dig out of the hole she has found herself in.

It’s at this point, Susan starts to regret how she kept pushing off her bookkeeping and expense tracking. For the whole year, Susan would put her receipts, bills and bank statements in a folder so it would be ready come tax time.

Every week she would check her bank account balance to make sure it’s okay. She thought everything was going to be fine.

Susan makes a vow to keep track of her expenses and income. She’s no longer going to push off her bookkeeping. She doesn’t want a tax bill surprise ever again.

Sadly, Susan’s story is all too common for how real estate agents get more serious about their bookkeeping and finances.