All Forum Posts by: Laura Williams

If it was mine I'd try to keep it & let the tenants pay down the mortgage. Florida has consistently had big population growth so good chance you could make some nice appreciation in a few years. You should talk to a local agent or property manager & see exactly what rent you could get but sounds like you should about break even. Keep in mind too that you'll need to set aside at least 10% (maybe a little more) for repairs & vacancy in your calculations.

@Michelle Watt

Just my 2 cents but I'd be careful buying C class apartments in Indy or KC. They look great on paper but I've heard one too many horror stories of investors having financial blood baths on these lower end properties. Not to mention there is a much lessor chance of any capital appreciation. If you can stay with class B or above properties then it's going to be much safer investment for you. 

@Dawn Vought I have used and like Bank 21 ...Tyler Knotts is the guy I go through. I also just heard that Arvest Bank (Eric) is good as well but I have not tried them personally. Many of the asset based lenders like B2R will also have no problem loaning to LLC's although their rates are higher than the local banks.

@Kevin Trumbull

Welcome :) btw my properties were in Kansas City ...Jackson county .. Other areas maybe different with the business license requirement. Also forgot to mention that a single member LLC is considered a pass through entity on your taxes (unless you choose to have it taxed as a corporation) so you just file your taxes as usual & don't need to file anything special. So doesn't really cost but the $50 to open the LLC. The only down side is sometimes the lending is different to LLCs verses having in individual name but I haven't found that to be much of a problem.

@Kevin Trumbull

I did it right on the Missouri State website https://bsd.sos.mo.gov you probably could also do it through Legal Zoom or other sites like that etc

For Missouri It's a one time fee of $50. You don't need to ever file anything with them again or pay any additional yearly LLC's fees after you create it( unless they change that). This is for single member ... I don't know what it's like for 2 or more member LLC's as I didn't check that out. You can then go to the IRS website & get a FEIN number for your LLC (really easy ) as you will need this to open a bank account. And the only other thing you need is an operating agreement which for 1 member LLC is pretty straightforward. You'll have to email that when to the title company when you go to buy or sell ...also your articles of organization which you will get emailed to you from the Missouri state online right after you file. I can send you my operating agreement if you want to just copy it (and change out names & dates ) or sure you can find a generic one online.

FYI I had a lawyer form my first LLC for me and he filed for me to have a business license which I didn't know he did & it created issues for me. After all the aggravation the deal is if you are managing the properties yourself then you are suppose to have this business license. But if you have a professional property manager ( and they have this business license ) then you don't need it. Something to keep in mind of you go the lawyer route as that was a major pain for me & had to have my PM go downtown & clear it up for me as I was facing fines from the city & I would up having to file a tax return special to the city even though I didn't owe them anything. Definitely ask the lawyer about that license if you go that route... I had no idea I even had one.

If you're creating a single member LLC you can do that online. It's pretty easy for Missouri. Just a one time fee and you don't need to file anything else or pay anything else after that.

@JJ GONZALEZ II Take some time to really get to know the city and areas where you want to invest and be careful with the multi-families. I've heard of many out of area investors really getting burned by these and also getting sold turds in the hood from unscrupulous turnkey companies that look good on paper but in reality are much different. In my opinion if you're investing out of state, you're better off buying in quality areas with less cash flow on paper but better demand, tenants, appreciation potential and resell value.

@Sandy Uhlmann Hi Sandy! I think I can help you. I just went through this drama with the city of KC. I am like you in that I own properties in the name of an LLC in Kansas City MO (good part of Urban Core) . The lawyer that set up my LLC signed me up for a business license (that I didn't know about) and I started getting letters from the city stating that I needed to file tax returns (even though I don't live there) and file for a business license for 2015 and that I was going to get fined etc. I called the city to clear it up (pain). So basically here it is. You do need a business license if you are managing your own properties according to the person I spoke with. It doesn't cost very much and you can just get one...I think it would have been about $25 for the year (and goes higher the more you make) and then you have to file a special tax return with the city once a year. Now if you have a local property manager that has a business license (which is totally different than a brokerage license which they also need) then you don't need one ....you can manage under their business license. But either you or your property manager supposedly need this business license from the city. To be honest I'm not sure that if I was managing my own properties if they would have ever known if that lawyer hadn't signed me up for that license it in the first place. Also depending where your properties are located it might be different in different areas around the city.

not sure what your rate is or which banks you spoke to but I would look into refinancing with an asset based lender. They don't care as much about credit scores although rates around 6-7%. If you can I'd hold onto it as long as possible. My 2 cents 

@Rod Desinord  That is the truth and I learned that the HARD way!! LOL