Stop Writing Off Everything: The Tax Mistake That Can Hurt Real Estate Investors Seeking Funding
Show summary
In this episode, Chereka Flemister shares her journey from wholesale real estate to becoming a financial and business consultant, highlighting how her accounting background enhances her real estate strategies. She discusses key opportunities, challenges, and practical advice for aspiring investors and entrepreneurs.
Key takeaways
- Be careful about writing off too many expenses: if you write everything off, your books may show a loss, which can hurt you when you apply for funding since lenders look at your profit and loss.
- Before your accountant finalizes your taxes, ask specifically how much the books show you made and how much they show you lost, so you understand the tradeoff between tax savings and showing profitability for funding purposes.
- Set aside time weekly or monthly (at least once a week or once a month) to review your bookkeeping and finances rather than letting it pile up.
- Probate, divorce, and pre-foreclosure situations are good sources of deals because those homeowners often need to sell and the properties frequently need maintenance.
- To build your network, use free resources like public speaking classes and creative writing classes, attend meetings with real estate agents, and set up as a vendor at community events like churches to meet people directly.
- To improve personal finances: admit if you have debt (especially credit card debt), build a budget by listing income versus expenses, determine whether you have an income problem or a spending problem, and create a plan to pay down debt.
- Chereka paused her wholesaling business in 2021 to get an accounting degree, which she says strengthened her understanding of financial statements like profit and loss and balance sheets before returning to real estate.
About Chereka Flemister
Chereka Flemister is a business and financial consultant with an accounting background. She briefly did wholesaling in 2021, then paused to go back to school for her accounting degree before returning to real estate. She now offers one-on-one financial consultations to help business owners and investors manage their numbers and reduce financial stress.
Listen to the audio
“You hear the term you can write off everything. And you know, which is true you can write off stuff, but you need to be careful when you write off... if you write all this stuff off and then it's time to get funding, you're gonna maybe get this big refund, but you'll show that you had a huge loss.”
Chereka Flemister
“Bookkeeping is so important. I would say sit down at least one day a week and go over your books.”
Chereka Flemister
“Network is really your net worth. Plain and simple.”
Scott Bursey
Questions answered in this episode
Why can writing off too many business expenses hurt a real estate investor?
Chereka Flemister explains that while write-offs reduce your tax bill, they also reduce your reported profit. When it comes time to apply for funding, lenders look at your profit and loss statement, and if it shows a big loss because of heavy write-offs, it can hurt your ability to get approved.
How often should investors review their bookkeeping?
Chereka recommends sitting down at least once a week, or at minimum once a month, to go over your books and finances rather than letting it build up, since business owners often get too busy to keep up with it.
Where does Chereka Flemister see the best profit opportunities in real estate right now?
She points to probate deals, since homes left behind after someone passes away often need significant maintenance. She also mentions divorce situations and pre-foreclosure homeowners as good opportunities.
What economic factors is Chereka most concerned about?
She cites rising interest rates and high gas prices (around $4.09 for unleaded in her area of Georgia) as current pressures, along with broader economic uncertainty tied to the upcoming election.
What is the first step Chereka recommends for investors trying to get out of debt?
She says you first have to admit and acknowledge you have a debt problem, then build a budget comparing your income to your expenses to figure out whether you have an income problem or a spending problem, and then create a plan to pay down the debt.
Resources and links
- Chereka Flemister on Instagram
- Chereka Flemister on YouTube
- Chereka Flemister’s Email Address: cfconsulting375@gmail.com
Full transcript
Chereka Flemister (00:00)
you need to be careful when you write off. after you write everything off, know how much Ashley’s gonna say that you have a that you make money, that you lose money. Because if you write us write all this stuff off and then it’s time to get funding
you’re gonna, you know, maybe get this big refund, but you’ll show that you had a huge loss.
Scott Bursey (01:51)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey Glad you’re with us. And today we’re delighted to be joined by Chereka Flemister a seasoned financial and business consultant with a deep background in accounting. She has spent years helping small business owners get total clarity on their numbers and build lasting financial strategies. Now she is taking that core expertise and learning real estate.
Listeners, you can expect the playbook on treating real estate like a real business. Chereka, welcome to the show.
Chereka Flemister (02:26)
Thank you for having me.
Scott Bursey (02:27)
Absolutely. it’s a pleasure having you here and to help our listeners get up to speed. Please give us the ninety second highlight reel of how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.
Chereka Flemister (02:39)
Yes, my name is Chereka I’m a business and financial consultant. I briefly did wholesaling in two thousand and twenty one. I stopped and I went back to school to get my accounting degree so I can learn more about business and it’s gonna help me in my real estate business going forward.
Scott Bursey (02:59)
Well, thank you for highlighting that. And Chereka you know what really caught my attention about you was the way you’ve been able to bridge high level corporate accounting with everyday real estate investing. taking that a step further, I guess curious to know what’s the biggest strength of your operation right now?
Chereka Flemister (03:17)
say the strength of my operation is that I understand I paused from doing wholesale I would say it was kind of a mistake but in a way it was a good thing. so when I went back to school I just continued to
learn. So that’s what I would have to say is that anyone who’s feel like they wanna get into real estate and they’re stuck.
you can do it. There’s I tell anybody that’s wants to start a business, it’s so much stuff you can do to prepare before you actually just take off and you know, just go full force. So now I have I understand, what a profit and loss, what a balance sheet is. that’s so important.
learning the business side ’cause you can make a lot of money, but it’s so important to learn how to manage it.
Scott Bursey (04:08)
Thank you for highlighting that. And digging a bit deeper, what is the biggest accounting headache in your view that real estate investors may face today?
Chereka Flemister (04:17)
going to say
You hear the term you can write off everything. And you know, which is true you can write off stuff, but
you need to be careful when you write off. after you write everything off, know how much Ashley’s gonna say that you have a that you make money, that you lose money. Because if you write us write all this stuff off and then it’s time to get funding
you’re gonna, you know, maybe get this big refund, but you’ll show that you had a huge loss.
So I’m not saying not to do it, but just be mindful of what you’re writing off. And just, ask your accountant, before she do the final, how much did it say I make, how much did it say I lose, you know? So just, watch that.
Scott Bursey (04:59)
I appreciate you sharing that. That’s very good. And did you have a little something else to add on that on that note?
Chereka Flemister (05:06)
Yeah, bookkeeping is so important. I would say sit down at least one day a week and go over your books. Go over your finance for the week or either one time a month. it’s so important. I know stuff sounds so simple, but I know as a business owner we get so busy.
Scott Bursey (05:22)
Well said, absolutely. And Chereka, looking closely, where are you seeing the best profit opportunities right now?
Chereka Flemister (06:19)
Say probate court. I’m gonna say probate.
Yeah, probate because I would say personally when someone passes away, a lot of the home they need a lot of maintenance. So I would say probate’s a good way. when people get divorced, those are, you know, yeah, foreclosed, pre foreclose someone’s that’s about to, you know, lose their home.
Scott Bursey (06:42)
Great point right there. And wondering what tax or economic shift are you most concerned about currently?
Chereka Flemister (06:50)
I’m gonna say right now, with the interest rate so expensive, would it would they just increase in it? And right now the economy is so bad right now. I mean, they just increased the interest rate. Gas prices like super high because where I am, gas is like in Georgia, it’s like four dollars and like nine cents. That’s just for unleaded.
So it’s like it’s all hitting us at one time and then plus, in Georgia, we have the election coming up in November.
Scott Bursey (07:19)
And curious to know if you could take us down the path of what does your personal and professional network look like right now.
Chereka Flemister (07:27)
Right now I am going to a lot of business class. I went to a public speaking class. That was actually free and oh my goodness, it really I tell any business owner take time and learn public speaking. And the class was actually free. There’s so many resources out here that can help business owners.
I did that and then I just took a creative writing class. So it teaches you how to write. So that class was very helpful. And then I went to a meeting with real estate agents and I networked with them. And then last weekend I went to a church and I set up as a vendor and I was able to talk to people about finances.
People just came up to me telling me their problems. I had my green tablecloth and green is for money. So that really attracted them to me. So and just hearing the different types of stories people telling me they want to sell their house. Someone passed away, about real estate. it was just really amazing.
Scott Bursey (08:31)
Network is really your net worth. Plain and simple. Thank you for highlighting that. And Chereka, unpacking this just a little further, interested to know what is the best piece of financial advice you could leave our listeners that are interested in scaling and increasing their own personal wealth.
Chereka Flemister (08:50)
Work on a plan, if you have debt, especially credit card debt, well first you have to admit you have to sit down and actually admit it and look at it. That’s the first step. Hey, agree, hey, I got a problem here. And then I would say increase your income. And then first you gotta look and see if do I have a income problem or do I have a spending problem?
’cause sometimes you make enough but you just got so basically just do a budget, write down how much you have coming in and then all of your expenses. So that’s so important that you look at that and then figure out which one it is and then think of a way of how you can pay down the debt because I mean debt it holds us back. It really does.
So I would say, reduce debt so that way you’ll have more money for retirement. And then like my goal in my business is to help people to reduce financial stress. So it’s not all about just wealth, but just that stress and your health, health is everything.
Scott Bursey (09:52)
And for those of our listeners that are thinking to themselves, hey, this is somebody that I really like, what would you like them to know first about your business?
Chereka Flemister (10:42)
I would like to let them know that I’m here to help them if you’re feeling like you’re stuck I’m here to tell you that this is only temporary you know think positive and everything is gonna be okay just first identify what your problem is and then just come up with a plan it’s not gonna
happen overnight, but then just make sure that, we set, realistic goals of how, we can reach our financial goals.
Scott Bursey (11:08)
Thank you for that. And Chereka, for those of our listeners that would like to keep this conversation moving, stay in your lane or perhaps collaborate with you. What’s the best way for them to plug into your pipeline and reach you directly?
Chereka Flemister (11:21)
Yes. I have my Instagram my Instagram is
It is Chereka C H E R E K A Financial F I N A N C I A L.
And then my email address is
C-F-C-O-N-S-U-L T I-N-G 375 @gmail.com. And then I have a YouTube channel. And the YouTube channel is my first and last name, C-H E-R E K A.
And my last name is Flemister, F L E M I S T E R. And I do one on one consultations.
Scott Bursey (12:06)
Awesome. Thank you for that, Chereka And thank you for joining us today on the Real Estate Pros podcast.
Chereka Flemister (12:12)
Yes, thank you.
Scott Bursey (12:13)
It’s been an absolute pleasure. And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you receive value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be filling your tanks with a lineup of elite guests, just like Chereka Flemister, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.
Chereka Flemister (12:37)
Thanks everyone.
