The OREM Corporation New Head Quarters...

Looking for the right place for the OREM Corporation has been challenging in the past few months.

There are lots of   considerations, distance from other businesses, location, first floor, second floor, visibility, driving distance from home, weekend availability, parking for clients, etc.

I’ve considered the shared spaces for the economical prices and the convenience for neighbor businesses too.

We also considered a big location right in a busy street in Culver City, but the monthly budget is not at the point yet.

There is even a store front right across the street of a gas station that could drive traffic to the office. The only down side of this location was the fact that this office didn’t have the interior office partitions required for our organization, which is an office for the Accounting company, another one for the Real Estate and the  Foundation. This last location also needed too much money to be invested in the partition walls and electrical for the offices, not a good option after all.

We searched farther away and found some suitable places and very good looking offices and front stores, unfortunately the budget always came as too far away.

There is a saying, sometimes the solution of your problem is right in front of you but you don’t realize it.

One Saturday night, after having dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant I got a fortune cookie that told me something like, you found your fortune place.

The same night while walking back home from this Chinese restaurant I saw this Store front with two big windows to a very busy street, with a brick and mortar facade, right in front of a bank branch of the biggest bank chain of America, also right across the street of a busy gas station and surrounded by local businesses, in front on two us stops and with its own parking.

The words that immediately pop in my head was Location, location, location!! And certainly one only can wonder where can I find a better office store front than this one? walking distance from my own home? What else can I desire?

The price range was right at our budget level, so after contacting the owner and having coordinated a visit, and after doing some more research, running more numbers and a smooth negotiation, we signed the lease for this unbeatable location.

So after years of searching we finely found out office for the OREM Corporation. We’ll have more good news to share soon.

This past weeks we were in the process of moving and improving some details of our new Head Quarters.

The big change for Income Tax businesses for next 2015 tax season...

OREM Client

Another tax season is over, we are all relief and glad it is finely over; and they are already new changes that will impact the business for the 2015.

To begin with there are several provisions and proposals attached to the 2015 budget.

What it is going to affect the tax preparation business is the “Correctable error” authority for the IRS.

People in this business know that the TPTIN was stuck down last year with the judgment waiting for appeal in the case of Loving vs. IRS in which 3 tax preparers sued successfully the IRS under the argument that the IRS doesn’t have the authority to regulate tax preparers.

OREM APP

In my opinion the whole argument is ridiculous and absurd, because how in the hell the IRS has authority to regulate the higher tax payers professionals like CPA’s, Lawyers, Enrolled Agents, etc. and then the IRS doesn’t have the authority to regulate the people that work under their supervision? In my opinion it is ridiculous and absurd.

I find it specially ridiculous an absurd after suffering the stress and tension associated with my 2012 year preparation and passing of the 3 tests to become an IRS Enrolled Agent to avoid the yearly PTIN test and a stroke.

This long waited proposal corrective error will clarify that the IRS has the explicit authority to regulate all tax preparers and effectively reverse Loving 2014-I USTC where the court of appeals for the district of Columbia circuit struck down the IRS registered tax return preparer RTRP program.

This proposal would be effective on or after the date of enactment.

OREM APP

So I think if you are a individual that works preparing taxes by yourself, from home and under no

supervision, then this will change your business unless you get the proper designations, or if you join a supervisory company.

Again in my opinion this proposal could make established accounting companies bigger and more competitive, and powerful in relation to small and individual tax preparers.

The OREM APP to make everybody's life easier...

OREM APP

Hello everybody, as you guessed YES, I’M SUPER BUSY these days, no social life at all. WORK, WORK, WORK, and MORE WORK.

 I always come across my clients records and I always help as much as I can to gather all their information and not to leave out any deductions. Deductions are the most important part of a proper accounting work for business owners.

This year I’ve been working on a project that will definitely make all my clients life easier, big and small will have an easier life with our company.

Imagine a way that can submit your invoices, tax forms, keep us in contact for your questions, our educational videos, our blogs, make payments, forums, voice messages, etc.

YES, In the next few days we will launch the phone application that will take care of your tax records, invoices, and everything in between.

Our key to success for the business world is Organization, Reliability, Empowerment and Management, our name OREM, just follow it for all projects you may have and you should succeed.

OREM - is the application that you should look for. It’ll be available in iphones, Android phones, tablets, and windows phones too.

I have a lot of clients already asking for it, and wanting to use it.

We will definitely let the world know when it comes live at all our social platforms.

Obamacare will be here soon, are you ready for it?...

We are in September 2013 and in less than 30 day all Americans will be able to enter the open market for healthcare, or Obamacare, the individuals that have healthcare throughout a job have nothing to worry about. But the one that doesn’t will have to get healthcare in order to avoid the Penalty fee.

OPEN MARKET

Open enrollment starts on October 1^st 2013 and ends on March 31^st 2014, and coverage starts on January1st, 2014.

Open enrollment means that you will be able to find healthcare insurance coverage at a lower price than in regular season.

PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

 If you’re like me and have a pre-existing condition, you won’t be turn down if you happen to have a pre-existing condition, health insurance companies cannot refuse to sell you with health insurance if you have a pre-existing condition.

COVERAGE

Then depending on your individual situation, single, married, with or without children, etc the cost can range from  cero to a couple of hundreds. Also depends on the type of coverage you want, bronze, silver, gold or platinum. The higher the income and the coverage the more expensive it gets.

CALIFORNIA

For example in the golden state of California for single individuals that are below the line of poverty  let’s say $18,000 a year there will be a $124.00 monthly fee that is covered entirely by the state and you’ll pay CERO with the basic coverage. But is you chose the fancy platinum coverage you’ll end up paying about $106.00/ month.

This is informational prices only, and is not my intention to provide with any specific quotes because the final prices are not available yet.

You can go to the healthcare website and play with the options to seek for the coverage you would need to avoid the penalty.

PENALTY FEE

If you don’t get a healthcare plan the penalty is 1% of you yearly income or $95.00 whichever is higher.

If you end up going to the emergency room and you don’t have health insurance then you’ll be bill the entire hospital bill and the penalty fee on top of that.

FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

If you happen to be a business owner then you have some options too. If you are a business owner without any full time employees or only part time employees who are pay with a 1099 then you qualify as an individual

IF UNEMPLOYED

If you’re unemployed you could qualify for Madicaid, keep in mind that your options depends on your income, and it could be free if your income is low.

WHERE TO GO ?

First you need to go to the government website to find out who runs the healthcare in your state of residence. So, first go to  www.healthcare.gov then from the drop down menu check your state and find out who runs the market in your state.

if you have more questions feel free to contact me...

Dealing with unemployment - Part II

If you're desperate, DO NOT SHOW IT !

I know that second parts never overcome the first ones but I will try.

I left a few loose ends on my first Unemployment issue last time. I’ve also received a few supportive emails, thank you all for the congrats.... and for the nasty ones too.

The main issue I would like to tell you this time is about been flexible when you want to overcome unemployment, and please, please pay your taxes as you go when receiving your unemployment checks.

This next coming week, one of my dearest friend is moving out of the city of Angels and this reminded me of the hardship a lot of our friends, family members, neighbors, or just people we know are going through.

I am also a property manager in Mar Vista for a 50 unit building, so this last 2 years I’ve witnessed how almost half of my tenants just had moved out for different reasons.

Some time it is hard for me to witness things. I wish I did not but the nature of my job forces me to face it, deal with it and worse… tell people how to deal with things.

Like I mentioned on my first issue of Dealing with unemployment, I remind all my readers to remain “positive” but not only positive but be a “realistic positive” person.

Try to out pass your competitors, always !

I remember a couple of years ago the hardship of dealing unemployment myself… try to picture this… imagine yourself living at a friend house temporarily, trying so hard to get a job that just did not happened, been denied employment for having low credit score due to identity theft, not been eligible for unemployment… hard right? Oh, lets not forget having problems on both of my knees and needing surgery, and yes you guessed it, no health insurance neither.

I am a true believer of “things happen for a reason”, but lets go by parts.

And I also want to share this personnel experiences with you, so you see that if I was able to overcome that, so will you!!

I remember working on and off at accounting department of different property management companies for a few years (and choosing to overpay my taxes, ALWAYS), I have the most unbelievable stories on each place, but that will be “an entire different blog issue”. 

Prepare the best you can, and the world will be yours

I can say, that working at so different management companies gave me such a good outlook of this business, they all have so different management approaches, I think that was the good thing to rescue.

I was working in a real estate company at the time and entertaining the idea of going into construction management school, but for some reason I always have to delay it, reasons such as: one of my ex-roommates became literally crazy, not having enough time, working too much, not enough money, you name it.

Then the whole real estate crash happened, so no job, few months later, no savings, no housing, cero, and nada.

By then I have a pretty good understanding of the dos and not to do in that business.

Lesson #1: for me was “if a company wants to hire the best candidate” then “you better act, sound, look, walk, talk and smell like one”. At all the interviews I had attended, I noticed the interviewers were not well prepared, it was a quite rare the occasion that the interviewer was the person who will be my next boss, and usually the decision maker is the owner or the main manager of a company, not your future boss.

Be positive, do not despair, the sky is the limit

A friend once asked me “how do you manage to get all these jobs?”. When the economy started to go south, I had realized they were dozens and maybe hundreds hunting the same jobs I was looking for. So, not only you need to look, walk talk and smell like the best candidate, you need to have a little extra “something something” to bring to the table, and that is…

Lesson #2, “if you want to out due your competitors you better be FLEXIBLE”. If you not only look, walk, talk and smell like the best candidate, you will overpass all your competitors “by be willing to take a little less than what you expected”, and believe me, its much better get less, than nothing at all. And this not only applies to wages but everything else like benefits, job title, duties, larger commute, schedule, etc. I remember a couple of years ago having a friend who did not want to flex her job conditions… she is still looking.

There are work fields in the low right now, its not necessary to mention them, its not polite, well I’m not a polite guy anyway.

So, if you want to increase your chances to be employed you have to develop other ways to make money. I am telling you just the proven ways to escape unemployment, the ones that had worked with me. If you want to increase your chances then this is my next best suggestion…

Just me, cute am I ?

Lesson #3: “develop a second career”, another “source of income". I found all these extension classes at the local community college so helpful. You can find classes that could take your employability to new highs, and if you take classes in your current career it’ll definitely will make you look, talk, walk and smell like the best candidate any company wants.

This kind of boost not only works for the ones with an established career, but also for the ones looking to develop a new one. Here is my real life example… “a few years ago when I was in the low, I saw this ad at the local community college, this class cost was $ 95.00 + $25.00 for the book. And as of today the return of this class in a little more than three years for me is…. $40,150.00” the best $120.00 I EVER INVEST !!!

Pertaining to flexibility is willing to take more in your plate. I am not sure how to explain this one, but I think you get the idea.

Lesson #4:  "When you're right, you are right" if you are positive something good is going on, KEEP IT. Could you believe I had a few friends making fun of me when I mentioned I want to become a property manager? well just let me tell you they turn green of envy every time I mention how wonderful this second career turned out to be.. you meet new interesting people, you learn something new every day literally, you learn on how to multitask, I got a personal assistant, the nice people in the main office, etc ...  and the rent savings are just amazing    ;)

Well my friends, these are the main lessons that had gotten me rapid results. I hope and you find them helpful too.

And I apologize again for the delay on this issue, but as you may know I've been just drilled with tax preparations all day, every day and the weekends too.

I hope and this issue was more helpful than the first one. Feel free to email me and ask all the questions you want, I'll make sure you get the information you need.