All Forum Posts by: Philip Barr

Wholesaling is a good way to get started in real estate investing. It can help you identify properties that are good opportunities. A helpful tip to learn is to identify contracts that have an assignability clause that allows you to sell the contract rights to an end buyer freely. That makes the process much easier.


Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

I haven't done wholesaling in Missouri, but a good general recommendation for wholesaling is to review the contracts closely and determine if the contract is assignable. If it is freely assignable to an end buyer, then that makes your work much easier.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Welcome to bigger pockets, Arthur.

Getting some experience in property management and then building from there is a good strategy. You could even venture into things like wholesaling to get your feet wet before making your first purchase. Wholesaling involves purchasing the contract rights to close on a property and then selling those contract rights to an end buyer. That may provide some experience in finding good deals.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Good to see a fellow attorney on here, and congratulations on starting your real estate investing journey.

To mitigate personal liability, ownership of investment properties is often transferred to a limited liability company (LLC) via deed. It is generally recommended that the LLC be formed in the same state as the property, allowing for smoother legal recourse. By placing the property in an LLC, any liabilities associated with it are generally confined to the entity, helping to insulate personal assets.

For added protection, individual rental LLCs may be held under a Wyoming holding company. Wyoming is recognized for strong laws that help shield business assets from personal creditors and liabilities, offering an extra layer of defense.

These are just some basics and tips for the legal side of things.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

It is essential for terms to be in writing when it comes to contracts in general, but especially real estate deals. Whenever there is ambiguity between parties, there is an opportunity for exploitation and dispute. It is always recommended to have an attorney draft contracts for you or at least review them to ensure that your rights are protected and you are being treated fairly.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Hi, welcome to the forums. I'm sure you have a lot to share with us given your wealth of experience. You will find that there is a lot of information here on structuring real estate deals, legal strategies, tax advantages, retirement investing, etc. 

I recommend exploring the forums' subsections based on your interests and questions. As I am sure you have discovered, there is a category for everything. Again, welcome, and thanks for the introduction.


Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Agreed about the necessity of an attorney here. Although you may not have funds upfront to hire an attorney, many of them work on a contingency fee basis, even for matters that don't involve vast sums of money or that are in small claims court. You may want to check your state bar association or reference resources like martindale.com to find an attorney.


Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

What is often recommended is for investors to separate out their active and passive income-producing assets into separate structures. For example, having your passive long-term rentals in LLCs, one rental property per LLC, and each in an LLC set up in the state where the property is located. Each rental LLC would compartmentalize the liability of each property so that it doesn't affect you or your other properties. The rental LLCs would all be owned by a holding company, set up as an LLC in WY to provide protection against personal liability as well.

For the active side, we typically want a separate structure. As was mentioned by @Ashish Acharya you could have an S Corp as a base. I recommend having each flip property in its own LLC, to again isolate liability, owned by the entity taxed as an S Corp. Alternatively, a C Corp can work because it has more robust tax reimbursements and deductions for medical plans and the idea would be to bring money out through those versus a dividend that would result in double taxation. That way, the dreaded double taxation is actually avoided and you can pull out money with a lot of tax advantages and also grow the company and reinvest given that the corporate tax rate is only 21%.


Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Welcome Staci.

Congratulations on your first step into a larger world. The basics of real estate investing can be found here, as well as collaboration and learning from people in the same boat as you, whether it be finding a property, financing, setting up a business entity, etc. I wish you the best of luck in your journey.


Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.

Another thing I would mention here is that if you are in a dispute with this other party and want your rights represented, legal counsel is an essential part of the process. As you highlighted, documentation is important. It will build your case against the other side's fraud or harm. But you don't want to go it alone. Local counsel is important in making sure that you are doing the right things and preserving any remedies that may be available to you.


Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.