Rental Property Accounting: Books That Survive an Audit
Separate accounts, chart of accounts for rentals, capitalization versus expensing, security deposit handling, and the records you mu…
Sara Pruitt
Editor, Tax & Legal · CPA
Sara is a CPA who spent a decade in real estate tax practice advising syndicators, flippers, and long-term landlords. She translates the Internal Revenue Code into English.
Depreciation1031 exchangesEntity structure
Articles by Sara (12)
Property Management
Tax Guides
Rental Property Depreciation: How the Largest Tax Shelter in Real Estate Works
Depreciable basis, the 27.5-year and 39-year schedules, cost segregation, bonus depreciation, passive loss limits, and recapture at …
Tax Guides
1031 Exchanges: Deferring Gain on Investment Property
Like-kind requirements, the 45-day and 180-day deadlines, qualified intermediaries, identification rules, boot, and reverse exchange…
Tax Guides
Capital Gains on Real Estate: The Section 121 Exclusion and Investment Property
How the $250,000/$500,000 home sale exclusion works, the two-out-of-five-year test, partial exclusions, and how investment property …
Tax Guides
Property Tax Assessments and How to Appeal Them
How assessed value is determined, millage rates, exemptions, and a practical process for appealing an over-assessment.
Insurance
Title Insurance: What It Covers and Why There Are Two Policies
Owner's versus lender's policies, covered defects, standard exceptions, extended coverage endorsements, and whether reissue rates ap…
Insurance
Homeowners Insurance: Coverage Structure, Exclusions, and Getting Paid
Coverage A through F explained, replacement cost versus actual cash value, standard exclusions, deductible structures, and claims pr…
Insurance
Flood Insurance: NFIP, Private Market, and Zone Reality
Why flood is excluded from standard policies, how NFIP coverage and limits work, Risk Rating 2.0, waiting periods, and private alter…
Legal Resources
Purchase Contracts and Contingencies: What You Are Actually Signing
Essential contract elements, how each contingency works, earnest money and default remedies, specific performance, and common amendm…
Legal Resources
Seller Disclosure Obligations: What You Must Reveal
Statutory disclosure forms, material defects, federal lead paint rules, stigmatized property, and the liability from failing to disc…
Legal Resources
Deeds and Title: Ownership Types, Warranties, and How Property Transfers
General warranty, special warranty, and quitclaim deeds compared, forms of co-ownership, recording, and common title problems.
Insurance
Why Insurance Became the Affordability Story
Premium increases have overtaken taxes as the fastest-growing line in many housing budgets.