Posted by Cat on January 17, 2003 at 17:27:31:
JT-IN
Thanks for the info! Advice well taken.
Cat
LLC or Land Trust? - Posted by Cat
Posted by Cat on January 17, 2003 at 15:18:05:
Which route would be best for someone just starting out in this business, but whos intentions are to be around for a long time. Should I do both?
Please advise.
Thank you…
Re: LLC or Land Trust? - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on January 17, 2003 at 17:09:49:
Cat:
The two items are not necessarily “interchangable”. They are actually dissimilar items. One does not actually replace the other.
An LLC is an actual “entity” which can provide some liability protection, due to it’s very nature.
The Land Trust can only provide privacy and anonominity, while doing absolutly nothing for asset protection.
So when a Land Trust is warranted, why not have your LLC hold Beneficial Interest in your Land Trust… which creates invisible ownership, but if the asset is found, then you have the protection of an LLC.
Actually, what is paramount for a Newbie is get out and make some money. I remember my earlier days of investing, and all the things that I had to sort through. It was a ton… but I wasn’t the least bit concerned about asset protection, b/c I didn’t really know any better. Now that I know, I look back on those days and say… “Thank God I didn’t know anything about asset protection…” The reason that I say that is, I had enough difficulty evaluating one opportunity from the other, w/o the complexity of asset protection being involved. If I had been concerned about that at the time, odds are I would have never made my first investment… Such a thing as over-analysing everthing, as opposed to getting out and creating a problem, that you then must learn the solution to, out of need.
Now I am not advocating that you go off uninformed, but be sure you go off… period. I have bought well over 100 properties, and I would hate to still be in the starting blocks, b/c I wasn’t sure whether I should do a LLC, LT, ABC, or XYZ… So until you go out and buy a half dozen houses, it really doesn’t make that big a deal how you operate… IMHO. Of course, in a perfect world this would be poor advice, but in a practicle world, such as the one an investor lives in everyday… you got to make the money/equity before you protect it. Now if you are starting with lots of equity, this may not apply.
Just the way that I view things…
JT-IN
Re: LLC or Land Trust? - Posted by Bill
Posted by Bill on January 17, 2003 at 19:52:57:
JT-IN makes good sense. Just for simplicity’s sake though, any new investor would be well served to choose LLC as your entity for flipping and holding until you get further down the road of investing. Overall an LLC provides more benefits than any other single entity for investor.