Business Structure

[Quinten Jones]

Hello friends,

I have a question on entity selection and business structuring.  I plan on starting my business in real estate investing, effective January 1, 2015.  However, I began thinking about how I will structure my business.  Now, I do live in California and I know that the Franchise Tax Board does levy a hefty tax on corporations, llc's, etc.  

My business Ellem Properties will begin in the wholesale side of things where I can build some capital to work with. Slowly, I want to enter Joint Venture projects in rehabbing properties thus earning larger profits. This will lead me into buying properties that I can rehab and market as rentals (SFR's). Finally, I would like Ellem Properties to have enough capital to both flip and sale commercial properties and enter into partnerships on small scale commercial property development and redevelopment (Passive Income).

How would I structure all of this? Do I structure as I go? If I were a LLC, how would my Joint Ventures/ Partnerships be managed within the grand scheme of things in my business set-up?

Thanks.

[Troy Fisher]

@Quinten Jones  - 

Long Term Strategic thinking is great.  If you are starting off as a wholesaler, you do not need complicated asset/tax entities.  Focus more on the looking at the daily grind of your business first.  As you draw upon your personal experiences and more learning as you go along you will develop the entity structure that works best for you as you progress along.  

It seems to me that you are putting business into buckets before you know which buckets you are going to need on your camping trip.  And yes, you may need a Real Estate Attorney, Estate Planning Attorney, and a Business Attorney. You may also need a CPA, Business CPA, Tax CPA, et al.  Where your business goes determines your needs.