Beginner Property Investor

[Ashley Hart]

Hello! 

My name is Ashley. 

I bought my first investment property in 2018, for $40k. The property is a duplex that needed a lot of love and even more work. I live upstairs while I rent the downstairs out. 

I am now looking to incrementally grow my portfolio with more buy and hold longterm rental properties. I lean this direction purely because it's familiar to me, and seems to be the easiest route with little capital to start. (Though I am open to having my mind changed and horizons expended)

Ultimately, once I have built enough capital, I will be expending into shortterm rentals and multi unit complexes. 

If you have any advice, direction, or inspiration, feel free to share!

[Amanda Breck]

Hi Ashley! Welcome!

When starting out with real estate investing, it is important to think of asset protection strategies so that all of your hard work stays safe. Real estate investing comes with a lot of risk, including liability for things like accidents on the property. Having good insurance is incredibly important, but not always enough. As you grow your portfolio, I recommend that you consider having an LLC structure to better protect your investments.

Especially with a smaller portfolio, you may want to consider having separate LLCs for each property you acquire. This offers asset protection, but also isolates liability. For example when you own all of your investment properties in your personal name, or multiple in one LLC, if liability occurs with one property, the others are put at risk in a lawsuit. A creditor could come after everything owned by the same person or LLC. With separate LLCs, the liability is cut off before it can approach other assets.

Good luck with your investing!