All Forum Posts by: Jason Barnett

There are some very good reasons to put property into LLC's. There is also some minor cost involved and (depending on the state) some paperwork that needs to be done.

Naming conventions are dictated by the state. So you can pick any name so long as it is legal in your state (sorry for the BS answer but it's true). You can find the rules by searching your Secretary of State's business name rules. For example in Ohio:

http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/businessservices/corp.aspx?Section=131

As far as I can tell Realtors are afraid of the liability and for good reason.

If you ever want advice on whether a deal is good or not then just try running the numbers in our property analyzer. I have a tutorial in the link in my signature.

On the first one you should really do it yourself and after that you can decide. There are several reasons to at least do one:

1. Your risk on the deal is less (less labor money in the property)
2. You learn how to do the work and you can either do it again in the future or you know how to supervise your hired help
3. Your own feeling of personal accomplishment and seeing the transformation from dud to stud (the house, not you! :lol:)
4. You probably aren't savvy enough to find tons of deals yet so what else are you going to do?

I highly recommend doing at least one rehab yourself.

Lease-option anyone? :wink:

I have posted a "HOWTO" for analyzing deals, just look at the link in my signature.

Are you considered an employee of the company? Just curious, but even if you are that would only be two employees. I'm not sure what your question is. Do you need help making the accruals and remitting to federal / state / local authorities?

Personally I find it a hassle and I'm even an accountant. But if you really want to do it yourself then just register your business with the secretary of state and the forms will come to you, guaranteed! :lol:

If you haven't already talked with Prohabber you really should. I've met him personally and he is a great source of real estate knowledge and willing to exchange ideas with you. And of course he lives in Cincinnati so he has a good feel for the local area!

I did both (Master's in Accounting and REI). If you ever find yourself needing a "real" job then a degree in business (accounting, management, finance, etc.) is extremely valuable. Also yes it is VERY hard to go back once you start working.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to get a Bachelor's degree (4 year degree) in business while you do REI. There will be a lot of overlap. That will also give you 4 years to decide whether you really want more education or not. A Bachelor's Degree is sufficient to get a "real" job and I think it makes a lot of sense for you.

A realistic plan: Go to whatever school located in a city where you would like to live. For the first year you live in the dorms while you go find a bargain piece of real estate and buy / rent the property. Ideally you would find a duplex and rent out one side and live in the other. Then you go to school and learn about the "real world" of being a landlord!

I wish I had that much money when I was your age. Good luck and I hope you find success.

Yes it can cover for lost rent, but I think that's just if there is damage to the property that makes the unit unlivable for some period of time. Of course you have to file a claim and if you file a large enough claim you're probably going to lose your current insurance provider. Not guaranteed, but you are warned (it's happened to me).

Sounds like I need a geography refresher...

But what you're saying is consistent with what I've heard from others as well. The areas around DC are especially expensive. Again this isn't first hand experience so take it for what it's worth.