New investor from NYC: LLC startup questions

New investor from NYC: LLC startup questions

Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 1 vote

Greetings BP Fam,

After months of extended lurking the new year seemed like a good time to finally make an intro post. Excited to be here! I’m a new investor living in Brooklyn but will likely be looking out of state for properties due to NYC being NYC and thereby very expensive.

I’d love to try my hand at flipping homes but building a nice passive income portfolio through securing rentals is the end goal. I’m still in the learning phase so I’m of course being inundated by lots of information.

I'm a little shame-faced to admit that I jumped the gun and believed the hype about forming a Nevada LLC a few months ago. I've done nothing with it and as I understand it, having this LLC at all is not necessary if I'm not buying in Nevada which I personally don't plan to. I was also told that I'd have to file as a foreign entity in my home state. I'm the only member in my business, no partners, so I imagine that'd be a determining factor on the necessity of this early on.

That being said, can anyone shed a little light on the following: if one does not plan to buy property in their home state, is the formation of an LLC in that state necessary or is it simply better to form LLCs in whichever state you're purchasing in as you begin to acquire properties? Just want to make sure I'm going about this in a way that's safe and legal but also not doing way more than I have to!

As of now, I'm considering formally dissolving the Nevada LLC or simply letting it dissolve on its own as an attorney suggested to me simply by not paying whatever their yearly fee is. Thoughts?

P.S: I know this question has been turned multiple times on this site but since my case is a teeny bit different with having formed the LLC already I figured I'd put it out there. Thanks in advance & I look forward to meeting everyone!

1Reply
20 views

Most Popular Reply

Property Manager · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 479 posts · 277 votes
7y

@Adrienne Melton Welcome! I did the same thing with Nevada, definitely don't need it so get rid of it!

Ask your attorney as you're buying a property what entity and where you should file as each state can be different. There is no one size fits all and can change. That's why having a reliable attorney is important.

See this reply in the discussion

6 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Property Manager · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 479 posts · 277 votes
    7y

    @Adrienne Melton Welcome! I did the same thing with Nevada, definitely don't need it so get rid of it!

    Ask your attorney as you're buying a property what entity and where you should file as each state can be different. There is no one size fits all and can change. That's why having a reliable attorney is important.

  • Rental Property Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 493 posts · 386 votes
    7y

    @Adrienne Melton

    You will find many different opinions in this topic ..

    Most recommend to form LLCs in State you are doing business..

    I’m aware Nevada’ and I believe some other States are popular States to form Series LLCs.

    I learned the hard way starting out, most banks will give you hard time financing thru a LLC and the few that do you might end up paying higher rate..

    There are ways around that people purchase w their name and then transfer title do their LLC but then theres the possibility the bank may exercise "due on sale clause" although it seems nobody knows somebody that bank went forward on "due on sale clause" with today's rising rates banks might have more incentive to do this..

    Here's my 2 cents, it's great that you're thinking about asset protection. If you're buying w cash definitely go forward w a LLC. As someone that's starting out finding the right deal should be your primary focus as you grow yes asset protection will become more important in the beginning don't let that stop you from moving forward..

  • Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
    Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    @Adrienne Melton

    Welcome to Biggerpockets!
    I am also from Brooklyn(Bensonhurst). I now live in Manhattan.

    I am not an attorney but from my understanding is that states require you form the LLC or register as a foreign entity in the states that you do business. Not filing the paperwork within the states may potentially not allow you to bring actions to court.

    I am suspicious if not paying the Nevada Annual fee to dissolve it is the best route. What if they come back to you in 3 years and say that you owe 3 years worth of annual fees plus penalties and interest?

    Good luck to your investing career!

  • Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @Chris Grenzig:

    @Adrienne Melton Welcome! I did the same thing with Nevada, definitely don't need it so get rid of it!

    Ask your attorney as you're buying a property what entity and where you should file as each state can be different. There is no one size fits all and can change. That's why having a reliable attorney is important.

    Thank you! That's good advice. I'm still shopping around for an attorney that feels like a good fit but I'll likely be washing my hands of the Nevada LLC very soon.

  • Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @Basit Siddiqi:

    @Adrienne Melton

    Welcome to Biggerpockets!
    I am also from Brooklyn(Bensonhurst). I now live in Manhattan.

    I am not an attorney but from my understanding is that states require you form the LLC or register as a foreign entity in the states that you do business. Not filing the paperwork within the states may potentially not allow you to bring actions to court.

    I am suspicious if not paying the Nevada Annual fee to dissolve it is the best route. What if they come back to you in 3 years and say that you owe 3 years worth of annual fees plus penalties and interest?

    Good luck to your investing career!

    Nice to meet you! And I agree. I was told this information during a legal consultation but leaving the LLC to rot seems like a poor idea when it's easy and inexpensive enough to just dissolve it properly.

  • Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @Raul R.:

    @Adrienne Melton

    You will find many different opinions in this topic ..

    Most recommend to form LLCs in State you are doing business..

    I’m aware Nevada’ and I believe some other States are popular States to form Series LLCs.

    I learned the hard way starting out, most banks will give you hard time financing thru a LLC and the few that do you might end up paying higher rate..

    There are ways around that people purchase w their name and then transfer title do their LLC but then theres the possibility the bank may exercise "due on sale clause" although it seems nobody knows somebody that bank went forward on "due on sale clause" with today's rising rates banks might have more incentive to do this..

    Here's my 2 cents, it's great that you're thinking about asset protection. If you're buying w cash definitely go forward w a LLC. As someone that's starting out finding the right deal should be your primary focus as you grow yes asset protection will become more important in the beginning don't let that stop you from moving forward..

    Thanks Raul. I've heard of the financing issues people may encounter when purchasing through an LLC and the rare but dreaded due on sale clause. Yikes.

    Definitely needed to hear this though: your primary focus should be on finding the right deal. I’m realizing that it’s easy to get caught up in the things that don’t matter as much when you’re first getting started and it can distract from what you’re really trying to do. Thanks for the input!

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.