transferring ownership to llc

[Joe Fermin]

hello all.  our rentals mortgage is held by phh mortgage.  i asked if i can transfer the ownership/loan to an llc, which i was considering starting.  they said that they do not do that, but i may be able to do something called a formal assumption of the debt.  im not familiar with this and was wondering if anyone else had any insight on this.  thanks in advance

[Joe Norman]

The downside is the hassle and expense (in Maryland we have to pay $400+ filing fees every year to keep the LLC in Good Standing).

The upside is the potential for limited liability, however I've heard from various lawyers that the corporate veil is easy to pierce unless the LLC is completely separate from anything in the owners personal life. IMO liability risk can be handled with an umbrella liability policy, which (again, IMO) all property owners should have anyway.

The other upside is anonymity, which is the reason I recently transferred my properties into an LLC. For me, keeping my name and home address out of the public eye was worth the expense of starting an LLC.