REI Attorney

[Alexander Bustos]

I was wondering if anyone knew any REI Attorney's in Dallas? I am wanting to make sure before I start flipping I get the proper legal advice and understand what type of entity I should setup and understand the proper way to do that as well.

[John Chapman]

Based on your initial post, it sounds like what you need more than anything right now is an accountant, not a lawyer. An accountant can advise you about entity structuring for tax purposes, which should be your primary thought. An accountant will also be able to advise about getting W-9s from your contractors and other misc issues. An accountant can also direct you to a lawyer who could set the entity up for you. (Although, here in TX, it's super easy to set one up, so I'm not sure I would waste the money on a lawyer.)

In terms of protecting yourself from liability, your primary defense should be liability and property insurance, as I suspect you will be actively involved in your flipping and an entity in itself won't provide that much protection under those circumstances. If you have specific questions about what's legal and what's not (e.g. lease options and what not), then I would probably consult an attorney. (Unfortunately, most of the RE attorneys I know really only do big stuff like commercial development, and the probably wouldn't be able to give you advice in the area of flipping.) But for basic flipping (which is not complicated), start with an accountant and insurance agent and go from there. If you want recommendations, PM me and I'll give you some.