I am not a veteran by any means but in the past year I went through setting up a texas LLC and then correcting alot of my mistakes. I am not going to tell you I know everything cuz I don't but let me tell you what I did.
The first thing you need to do is talk to a CPA about the different tax options when you set everything up. That is where I messed up. Get it right the first time because the correcting it is time sensitive, and I was literally 3 days late on correcting mine. My initial thought was I was trying to save myself a $100 consultation fee. Well that saving $100 probably cost me a few thousand in taxes I am going to pay this year. Do it right the first time....or correct it really fast.
For LLC, I went to NOLO.com and used their tools to set one up. I forgot the cost but it was pretty cheap. You can do it all yourself via the texas websites, but I didn't. The only benefit for using a company like NOLO is that you get your operating agreement. If you are running your LLC by yourself I don't know that an operating is as important than if you have a partner. After reviewing their operating agreement, honestly, it was so vague it was pretty much useless but it will get an operating agreement which the title companies and mortgage companies will require. Just a heads up, when you sell property they will require you to have a corporate resolution authorizing the sale of property. Somehow I could buy one without but I couldn't sell it without it. Title company provided a form for me to copy or you can look them up online. I bought an LLC book from NOLO which had a copy, so I morphed that one and the one the title company gave me and it was acceptable.
I signed up for pre-paid legal through legal shield. That is probably the advice I give most of my friends is to get this service. It has been very helpful. I would not trust them on advice for super sensitive stuff like a murder trial but to ask basic questions about different stuff related to a newbie & house buying it has been awesome. They have been helpful on going over my operating agreement and telling me where it was a little light and where I needed to add stuff. They have also answered questions along the way about the buying selling process. I pay so little and I am amazed every time I call them with how much time they will spend with me. Look into that service.
On home warranties...I don't know much about them but I have bought them on houses I have sold as part of the "deal" the buyer negotiated. I have also heard the same feedback from friends. they take forever to fix stuff. For example to fix an AC took over a week. They come out, figure out what part to fix, then order it, then come back out. Nothing is fast, but its mostly paid for. A renter etc would not easily tolerate all the delays. A failed AC in August in Texas will feel like a month.
Sorry for the long post. Hopefully it helped.
