Prepare the general journal entries for the following transactions:

Jan 2, 2011 -- Purchased land with a building on it for $750,000. The land is worth $300,000. Paid $150,000 cash down and signed a mortgage payable for the balance.
Dec. 31, 2011--Depreciation is computed using the straight line method. The estimated salvage value of the building is $75,000 and has an estimated life of 20 years.
July 1, 2012 -- The building and land are sold for $825,000 cash.

Question: I have done the journal entries but I am $150,000 short on credit side. What am I doing wrong? It's not balancing.

To determine what went wrong and why the journal entries are not balancing, we need to review the transactions and the general journal entries you have recorded. Let's analyze each transaction and the corresponding journal entries:

Transaction 1: Jan 2, 2011
Purchased land with a building on it for $750,000. The land is worth $300,000. Paid $150,000 cash down and signed a mortgage payable for the balance.

The journal entry for this transaction should include two accounts: Land and Building, and Mortgage Payable. Here's how it should be recorded:

Land $300,000 (debit)
Building $450,000 (debit)
Cash $150,000 (credit)
Mortgage Payable $600,000 (credit)

Transaction 2: Dec. 31, 2011
Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method. The estimated salvage value of the building is $75,000, and it has an estimated life of 20 years.

It seems like the depreciation expense was not recorded in the journal entries. To calculate the annual depreciation expense, subtract the salvage value from the cost of the building and divide it by the estimated life:

($450,000 - $75,000) / 20 = $18,750 per year

To record the depreciation expense, you would have the following journal entry:

Depreciation Expense (Income Statement account) $18,750 (debit)
Accumulated Depreciation (contra-asset account) $18,750 (credit)

Make sure to record this entry at the end of each fiscal year or accounting period to allocate the depreciation expense properly.

Transaction 3: July 1, 2012
The building and land are sold for $825,000 cash.

To record the sale of the building and land, you need to account for the cash received and remove the associated assets from the books. Assuming there are no other expenses or fees associated with the sale, the journal entry would be as follows:

Cash $825,000 (debit)
Land ??? (credit)
Building ??? (credit)
Accumulated Depreciation ??? (credit)
Gain on Sale of Assets ??? (credit)

However, since you mentioned that your journal entries are not balancing, it seems like you are missing $150,000 on the credit side. To address this issue, you should check the amounts you used for the Land and Building accounts when recording the sale:

Land = Cost of land - Mortgage Payable
Building = Cost of building - Accumulated Depreciation

Make sure the amounts you used for these accounts are correct and reevaluate the journal entries to ensure accuracy.

If you still need assistance or have any further questions, please let me know.