Selling Fractional Ownership in Rental Properties

Selling Fractional Ownership in Rental Properties

Investor · Brownsville , TX · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 2 votes

Apologies if this is a topic that has been covered or is more appropriate in a different section but I am looking for information about selling fractional ownership in rental properties. Most of the information I have found pertains to timeshares versus rental properties. Can anyone provide some basic guidance or references pertaining to this subject?

To expand on the question, from a legal and business perspective, what are the considerations and/or limitations in the following scenario:

Bob buys the property at 123 Main Street through a business entity in which he is the sole managing member, ABC LLC. The property is bought for $100,000 (80/20 LTV) with a traditional mortgage and then transferred to ABC, LLC but personally guaranteed by Bob. For $10,000, Bob offers Joe and Mike, respectively, 10% stake in ABC, LLC in return for a proportionate share of the rental income and appreciation.

Joe and Mike have the potential to earn a respectable return on their investment without the headaches of solely owning or managing rental properties and Bob has recouped his initial investment while retaining 80% stake in the property.

This seems like a reasonable model but I have not found much information out there about similar ventures and I am sure there are a number of issues I am overlooking, i.e. securities laws, accounting complexities, etc.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

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  • Lender · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    @Jack Victory what you are describing sounds an awful lot like a very small scale real estate investment fund. I have friends that do this on a much larger scale, and what I can tell you from experiences with them is that there is more regulation with this than you would think (see: accredited investors, etc) and when you introduce debt to the portfolio, it changes the dynamics of how the fund operates considerably. If you are going to do this right, plan on spending $15,000 to get a real estate attorney and a specializing CPA in a room together to go over all the fine points and let them set you up to do it the right way. 

  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    10y

    not enough cash flow to make this model work for the small investor. and you have securities issues.

  • Investor · Brownsville , TX · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    @Jason Hirko thanks for your reply. I agree it seems similar to a small scale fund or REIT but with a few key differences that might alleviate the SEC filing requirements and some of the other regulatory complications. Firstly, if members are given voting rights and major decisions such as buying and selling property or taking on debt are decided by vote while the managing member is responsible for the day to day administration of the business my understanding is that the interest in the LLC would not be considered a security. Second, an LLC or Series within a Series LLC in this model would only hold one property versus a portfolio of properties and potentially debt like a traditional REIT. This would tie the cash flow directly to rental income instead of issued dividends.

    Let's assume for the moment that interest in the previous fictional example is not considered a security or that the business could meet one of the common exemptions of the SEC's Regulation D (504, 505, 506). Could this be a financially worthwhile endeavor? Or better yet, how would you tweak it to be worthwhile?

    With rents at 1000, 1200, or 1500, allowing 50% for expenses and assuming a P&I payment of 400, monthly cash flow for Joe and Mike would be 10, 12, and 15, respectively, or 120, 144, and 180 annually...as @Jay Hinrichs points out, even with capital appreciation, not worth it.

    If cashflow is allocated, not by ownership percentage, but equally among the three partners then cash flow increases to 400, 800, 1400 annually. Adding capital appreciation of 3%, Joe and Mike would make 7%, 11%, or 17% of their 10,000 while Bob would make the same plus principal reduction on the mortgage while getting his 20,000 down payment out for use in the next venture.

    ***I am a rank beginner at all this so please feel free to point out anything I am missing, calculation mistakes, false assumptions, or if I am totally of base.***

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