Accountants?

[churton]

I was wondering about peoples experience with accountants. We have 6 rental properties and are both also working, have not paid any tax on rents and doing self assessment returns. We feel we need advice re tax and future investment/pos. giving up day job. Are accountants usually able to help or should we just get tax information.any recommend firms in north west?
Thanks

[noopin]

Hi, Churton - I can't help you (that's a promising start!) but am in a similar position. I'm sure I remember some posts last year talking about mentoring and business advice. There must be many people who are similarly fixed, either as recent start-ups or who've muddled along for a while.
I'm in East Lancs. myself and, whilst this site has undoubtedly been of great help, it's difficult to keep the big picture in my head because of the details I'm always chasing. It's not easy to take a strategic approach to the business because I'm never completely au fait with tax implications and the like. I'm always trying to find an accountant with specific experience of this business, who can give advice on the ramifications of what are sometimes instinctive decisions, before I find that I've missed a tax break or time limit or something.
Of course, I expect to pay professional fees for such help, but I just can't find such an individual. So, for all of us like this (and I've no doubt there are more than would openly admit it), is there such an individual out there?

[Matt Churchill]

Ultimately, I would say you get what you pay for when it comes to taxation advice. Some firms will be better than others, and I would say that the larger firms would have more tax expertise.

Naturally, if you also want to try and plan where you are going they could help with this to a certain extent, as could someone on the lending side of things - at least to confirm what is and is not possible, sometimes accountants would focus too much on the taxation side of things - which after all is what you are paying them for!

I'd say go along and meet some, explain what you want and see what they say to it.