You don’t know what you don’t know until you know you don’t know it

You don’t know what you don’t know until you know you don’t know it

Yes, the title is a mouthful but I mean well. I recently had the opportunity to present on 1031 Exchanges to the American Society of Women Accountants. They were a great group of women from all walks of accounting. Self-employed, non-profits, small companies, retired, Fortune 500’s. You name it, it was represented.

This was an exceptionally eye-opening experience for me. At least twice a week I have the occasion to say to a client “You need to discuss this with your CPA”. That quote sums up how much interaction I have with those in the accounting profession other then dealing with my own accountant.

I made the same assumption about accountants that many make about real estate agents. I assumed all would be familiar with 1031 Exchanges and know the basics at the very least. What I learned that night was I knew very little about accountants and accounting in general. Accountants have specialties just like real estate agents. Most that I encountered had little, if any, knowledge on tax-deferred exchange.

Ironically, I began my presentation explaining the lack of education requirement for real estate agents in 1031 Exchange and how it could be very likely that the account would be the most knowledgeable individual in the transaction. What I know now is very few accountants specialize in real estate and even fewer specialize in business or investment real estate.

The point of my story is to emphasize just how important it is for the seller, the real estate agent, the accountant, and the intermediary to familiarize themselves with the level of knowledge and experience of the other parties in the transaction. You never know what you don’t know unless you ask.

If you are interested in learning about the advantages of a 1031 Exchange, please visit www.MyAZ1031.com for an overview and to request more information. If you or your organization would like a presentation on 1031 Exchange, feel free to contact me. Programs vary in length from 50 minutes to 3 hours.

Copyright 2006. Tracy Thompson is a member of the National Association of Realtors, The Arizona Association of Realtors and the Glendale Board of Realtors. To find out more about home buying and selling, contact Tracy at 623-326-0597 or email Tracy@TalkToTracyHomes.com http://www.azhomebuyerhelp.com/