Accounting That Knows the Difference Between a Property and a Portfolio
Real estate finances live or die on the details — per-property profitability, depreciation schedules, escrow and security deposits, investor splits. Fairlight keeps the books straight at the property level and the strategy sharp at the portfolio level.
✓ Per-property reporting ✓ Real estate tax strategy ✓ Fixed monthly fees
Real Estate Businesses We Work With
Rental property investors
from a single duplex to a multi-state portfolio, with books that show what each door actually earns.
Property management companies
owner statements, trust accounting discipline, and payroll for on-site staff.
Short-term rental operators
Airbnb and VRBO accounting, platform payout reconciliation, and Florida tourist development tax compliance.
Real estate developers and flippers
project-level job costing, capitalized versus expensed costs, and cash flow that survives the build.
Brokerages and agents
commission tracking, agent payouts, and the S-Corp strategy questions every high-earning agent eventually asks.
Foreign owners of U.S. property
including Canadian investors in Florida real estate, where FIRPTA, Form 5472, and cross-border structuring change everything.
Cross-border ownership →Where Real Estate Books Break Down
- Everything in one bucket — properties pooled into a single P&L, so you can't see which doors make money and which quietly bleed
- Depreciation left on autopilot — missed cost segregation opportunities and schedules that don't survive a sale
- Security deposits and escrow mixed with operating cash — a compliance problem and a clarity problem at once
- Capital improvements expensed (or repairs capitalized) — misclassification that distorts both your taxes and your property values
- Investor and partner reporting — K-1s, distributions, and capital accounts that get messier every year they're not maintained
- Sale-year surprises — depreciation recapture and capital gains that nobody planned for until the closing happened
What Fairlight Does for Real Estate
- Property-level bookkeeping — income and expenses tracked by property (and unit where it matters), so every door has its own P&L
- Rental tax strategy — depreciation done right, repair vs. improvement decisions documented, passive activity rules navigated, and 1031 exchange planning before you sell, not after
- Entity and structure guidance — LLCs, partnerships, and how your holdings should be organized as the portfolio grows
- Investor and partnership accounting — clean capital accounts, distribution tracking, and K-1 preparation your partners won't have to question
- Short-term rental compliance — county tourist development taxes, state sales tax on transient rentals, and platform income reconciled to the bank
- Cross-border ownership — FIRPTA withholding, Form 5472 for foreign-owned LLCs, and treaty coordination for Canadian owners of Florida property
The Full Stack, One Firm
Real Estate Bookkeeping
per-property books, closed monthly on a guaranteed date
Learn more →Real Estate Tax
depreciation, 1031s, entity strategy, investor K-1s
Learn more →Real Estate CFO Advisory
deal analysis, portfolio cash flow, financing prep
Learn more →Cross-Border Ownership
Canadian and foreign owners of U.S. property
Learn more →Why Property Owners Choose Fairlight
South Florida is our market too.
From Miami to West Palm Beach, we work where your properties are — including the cross-border ownership questions this market generates daily.
Portfolio-level judgment.
Fairlight's founder spent 15+ years in senior finance leadership, including project finance — we think about your real estate the way an institution would.
Fixed fees, published pricing
you'll know the cost per month before we touch a ledger.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you track each property separately?
Yes — that's the default, not an upgrade. Every property gets its own income, expenses, and P&L, rolled up to a portfolio view.
I'm a Canadian buying Florida property. What's different for me?
A lot — FIRPTA withholding on sale, potential Form 5472 filings if you own through a U.S. LLC, and treaty questions on rental income. Our cross-border practice handles both sides. Start with the cross-border assessment.
When does a 1031 exchange make sense?
When you're selling appreciated investment property and want to defer the gain into a replacement property — but the deadlines are strict and the planning has to happen before closing. Talk to us before you list, not after you sell.
Do you handle short-term rental taxes in Florida?
Yes — Florida transient rental taxes and county tourist development taxes are part of our STR bookkeeping packages.
Know What Every Door Earns
Book a free consultation — bring your property list, leave with a clear picture of what proper real estate books would look like for your portfolio.