Kevin has done our taxes for a few years. If you need someone for a few days at tax time, and can drop them off, come back, go over them and leave, then you may be just fine with him. I never had a need for help other than taxes until recently, and I have literally spent a MONTH trying to get him to answer a few questions for me about selling a property. One excuse after another why I can't get a call or an e-mail - he's teaching, he's not where he can get e-mail. he's sick. One of the reasons I sought a pro to do my taxes was not only to do them at tax time but also if I needed help with my investment property etc. I'll be going elsewhere for my taxes from here on out. HORRIBLE customer service.

UPDATE 5/1/2018:

Three years later, a friend just asked me about tax help in Asheville area. I was quick to encourage them to use anyone BUT Blue Ridge Tax Advisors, which brought me back to these reviews, and I am sad to see many have had similar experiences to the one I had.

It's funny to read Steve Kassel's review claiming the negative comments here aren't legitimate (google "Steve Kassel taxes" and you'll see why - from the looks of the Yelp reviews of his business he is both a colleague of Kevin's and has a similarly non-existent work ethic).

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

When you are behind on your taxes, it is stressful. One of the main benefits of employing professional help in dealing with such a situation should be the relief of stress that comes with knowing someone qualified is on your side.

Kevin Huston seems like a nice guy, and he seems like he knows the technical side of his business. My first meetings with him left me fairly confident in his ability to help me.

Unfortunately, Kevin and his Blue Ridge Tax Advisors have been a terrible disappointment in terms of communication and service. When it came time for the IRS to put a lien on me, not only could I not reach Kevin, I couldn't even reach his assistant. When his assistant finally answered the phone after two days of me trying repeatedly, she told me the earliest he'd be available to discuss my situation would be the following Thursday. The following week I called the office every day, hoping to get a specific time nailed down for our meeting that Thursday. No one ever answered. Thursday came and went without a word.

That was not the first time I had trouble getting a response from Kevin, and it was not the last. I kept giving him another chance, since at that point he already had all the context of my situation and the limited power of attorney in place to represent me to the IRS. But repeatedly Kevin has said he would get something to me promptly, and then I hear nothing.

When you can actually get him to do his job, Kevin seems pretty good at it. But if I treated my clients the way he's treated me, I would never get any repeat business.

The sad part is, I need someone who offers services like Kevin's long-term. If he would respond when he says he will, and at least make sure his assistant is there to answer calls during normal business hours (what's the point of having an assistant who doesn't answer the phone most of the time), there might be no problem. If he'd manage my expectations in a realistic way, he could have easily had me as a client for decades.

When I first hired Kevin, I spoke highly of him to my friends, several of whom showed interest in getting his help with their finances as well. At this point, I wouldn't recommend him to my enemies.

An absolute Fraud. Takes your consult fee and does nothing. Forget getting a call back because it won't happen. Totally lied about being able to help me.

Absolutely the worst. Kevin does not return phone calls and can't even remember to put my ss# on paperwork he sent to the IRS. BEEN WAITING ALMOST 9 MONTHS FOR HIM TO DO THE JOB HE WAS PAID TO DO! From the other reviews I can now confirm that he is nothing more than a con artist with a bunch of fancy initials.

Kevin is one of the most knowledgeable and most helpful tax professionals in the country. I have personally benefited from his assistance numerous times. Frankly, I don't believe the negative reviews are legitimate. I would NEVER hesitate to hire Kevin for any task. He's also one of the best teaching tax professionals in the country and thousands of Enrolled Agents will testify to this.

Very nice people but very poor results. Payment upfront but returns were late and inaccurate, phone calls & emails unreturned, original documents from IRS never returned despite phone calls and in person requests. We are starting over with another company after having lost a lot of money and time.

Awesome help! Very nice and trustworthy!

If you need help with a matter that needs follow up, don't hire Kevin! My husband needed help on 3 years amended returns. A deadline was promised that came and went. Even though we paid in full, the work was not done in a timely manner. After the work was done (about a month late), more correspondence was needed with the IRS. We left at least 5 phone messages, some by voicemail because nobody was there to answer the phone and some were left thru his assistant. The last call we did speak to the assistant and were promised that Kevin would return the call the next week. That was 3 weeks ago! Since then, my husband left another call begging Kevin to call back. That call NEVER came! We should have paid attention to the other negative reviews. There were so many negative reviews on FaceBook, it looks like they have now removed the "review" section on the FaceBook page. Do yourself a favor and find someone else for your tax help.....

Never responded to any of my emails. Or calls. He left me hanging, just like he left all of the other reviewers hanging. Sorry man, but if you are reading this you should know that not responding is highly unprofessional.

We had a great experience with just one appointment. Got good advice that helped us save a lot of money.

Unfortunately, I didn't read other people's reviews of this company and had a very similar experience. Marlene and Kevin are very nice and I did feel confident about Kevin's ability to help with my situation. I paid the $100 to have my initial consultation with him. All I needed from him was an official writeup of services for my own records, but as soon as I asked for this, Marlene stopped returning my phone calls. They made no effort to communicate with me after repeated attempts via phone and two different emails. This was all after being told that my situation wasn't a big deal and that Kevin could easily help me. Now I have to find a different group to work with and I feel like I am just spinning in circles. As one of the other reviewers put so well, "I wouldn't recommend this company even to my enemies," not that I really have any, but seriously, don't waste your time or money. I never like leaving negative reviews, but I absolutely have to be honest. Whatever you do in your life, you have to be impeccable or it will bite you in the ass, you can't just mess with people's lives like this, the IRS is no joke.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY USING BLUE RIDGE TAX ADVISORS! I took my tax problems to Kevin Houston with Blue Ridge Tax Advisors on February 12th, 2015. I had neglected to file my taxes in 2010 and the NCDOR was threatening to garnish my wages if I didn't address them soon. So, I paid the Mr. Houston his required $100 consultation fee upfront. He looked at my tax problem and assured me that he would be able to take care of everything in a couple of days. That was 31 days, 10 un-returned voicemails, and 3 un-returned emails ago. He has done absolutely nothing with my taxes in a month, and not even bothered to return my calls or emails. Now, the NCDOR has garnished my wages and I have to start all over again with another firm. I'm on my way to retrieve my tax documents and demand a full refund of my consultation fee from Blue Ridge Tax Advisors. Do yourself a favor - Don't waste your time with Blue Ridge Tax Advisors! I wish I could give them negative stars.

Sadly, I encountered the exact situation as the previous review. After 4 months and actually going to the office countless times, I was able to get my file back. The only contents were the 2 documents I gave him. If only he realized that he was playing with people's lives. The government is not one of the establishments you want to ignore.