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Michelle Bright
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Moving property to an LLC

Michelle Bright
  • Realtor
  • Chicago, IL
Posted Jan 17 2023, 13:47

If I have a LLC that is registered in another state (Indiana) that I want to put a house in Chicago into. Do I need to apply for an Application for Admission to Transact Business to register the LLC in Illinois? Thanks for any help!!

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Jeff Copeland
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Jeff Copeland
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Replied Jan 18 2023, 07:19

1. Check with a local attorney.

2. I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. 

3. There is probably nothing stopping you from transferring ownership to a foreign* LLC without registering it in your state. However, if you ever need access to the court system in your state, such as to file an eviction or take any other legal action, then it will need to be registered. The process is usually simple, so it makes more sense to do it ahead of time. The last thing you want is to delay an eviction for a month while waiting on your LLC registration to be processed. 

(*By foreign, I mean "from another state". This is typically how States refer to this)

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Jonathan Klemm
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Jonathan Klemm
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ModeratorReplied Jan 18 2023, 08:52

Hey @Michelle Bright - Maybe check with @Bob Floss II he is a local Chicago attorney.

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Eudith Vacio
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Eudith Vacio
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Replied Jan 18 2023, 10:36

Hey @Michelle Bright, I have a LLLC in Illinois and own a property in Indiana & have not had any issues. You will still need to pay taxes for that specific state on the profit, but I don't think there should be any issues..

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Bob Floss II
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Bob Floss II
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Replied Mar 22 2023, 12:45

@Michelle Bright You received solid advice from @Jeff Copeland. You technically can transfer the property into the LLC and I see it all the time. I would never allow my client to operate without filing to do business within a state. Without submitting yourself to the state jurisdiction, you are not afforded the protections of the state. An good eviction defense attorney could use that as grounds to try to throw out an otherwise valid eviction case.

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Blake B.
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Blake B.
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Replied Mar 22 2023, 15:25
Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

Hey @Michelle Bright - Maybe check with @Bob Floss II he is a local Chicago attorney.

 I've worked with @Bob Floss II, would recommend!

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Blake B.
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Blake B.
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Replied Mar 22 2023, 15:34
Quote from @Michelle Bright:

If I have a LLC that is registered in another state (Indiana) that I want to put a house in Chicago into. Do I need to apply for an Application for Admission to Transact Business to register the LLC in Illinois? Thanks for any help!!

I know it's common parlance in the world of investing to say, "put your assets in an LLC", but, you want to know precisely why you'd do it. Obviously, the tax benefits are something to think about, but in some states like Illinois, the judiciary does not make it easy for an owner of an LLC to protect their interests without hiring an attorney. For most people this is fine, a competent attorney is a valuable and often necessary team member, but if it's an eviction, foreclosure, or other civil suits, you've made it quite difficult to get remedy without having to hire an attorney when you put assets into companies, corporations, and even some trusts (some people would say it's ludicrous not to use an attorney for such matters; however, I am not one of them).