Getting the right advice

Choose the right people to ask for advice in your apartment investment. In my experience, talking to an attorney or an accountant is likely to get inexperienced, personal opinions, not good business advice.

First of all, operating a commercial real estate investment is a specific skill. Judging tenants, calculating risk, and negotiation are really important-- and most people don't have the necessary experience.

Accountants are good for judging your personal financial situation, and tax obligations. But the macro-economic judgment that leads to good returns and high rates of internal rates of return, would not be their area. They're excellent at arranging the books and records, but don't know how to manage property (my apologies to anyone that does).

Attorneys are temperamentally risk-averse. They look for problems and threats. Believe me, owning commercial real estate will have problems and threats. LLC's and entities are worth looking into to shield your personal net worth from the risks of ownership. But most lawyers don't know how to manage property investments (my apologies again to anyone that does).

Being an entrepreneur is very different from being an accountant or an attorney. Use experts where you should, but don't invite opinions from those who aren't used to taking on risk.