I think you’re complicating your life for no good reazon, ZK. What is the cost to create three LLCS? Several hundred dollars, I bet. I don’t mean to downplay the risk you might face, but I think a lot of people overexaggerate their risks in operating rental property. You might be just as well off to stick to operating honestly and legally, and have good insurance in case something happens. LLCs are relatively new and can seem “sexy,” while insurance is old and can seem boring. Make sure you want an LLC for the right reasons. As far as putting a lien on the mobile homes to secure the credit cards, I don’t know how that works, since I’m assuming your state is treating the homes as personal property, not real property. If it was real property, it would be simple enough to just create a credit line to yourself for any amount you wish, and secure it with a trust deed.
I’ll try to make this brief, but there are a few details to it:
A local mentor in my community recommended the following structure (for holding rental Mobile Homes), so I hold them as such:
Each in a separate LLC - called ‘child LLC’s’
They are owned by a parent LLC - a partnership comprised of myself & a relative (He said to do this because a partnership has ‘charging order protection’)
Registered agent is the local mentor (who keeps the owner’s info confidential)
I live in New Mexico, where the owner of an LLC is not on file with the state. In other words, to find out the owner of an LLC here, you need to go thru the registered agent.
Now for my question: I have borrowed against a couple of credit cards (at 2-6% fixed until paid off) to finance a couple of the homes, and I would like to file a personal lien against the homes since I have my own personal money/credit invested in them. Is this a good idea? OR, am I just making myself more visible in the case of a lawsuit?
I called the MVD - they said I would need to bring in a loan agreement between me & the LLC - and proof that I can sign on behalf of the LLC - I have both - So it looks completely doable.
I operate a very ethical business, and always try to do right by folks, and I understand that this is the first line of defense. But sometimes things go wrong, and I just want to defend against the possibility of losing a home without being able to pay off that credit I borrowed.