Banking and Commercial Loans

[Azki Shah]

Hello everyone!

Basic question:

I'm trying to get my ducks in a row with banking solutions. I've set up a LLC and getting the paperwork together. I would like to pick up rentals as well as the occasional flip. Now, I'm looking for a solid bank to do business with. Any help would be appreciated.

Is it smart to have personal and business accounts at the same bank?

[James Masotti]

Originally posted by @Azki Shah:

Hello everyone!

Basic question:

I'm trying to get my ducks in a row with banking solutions. I've set up a LLC and getting the paperwork together. I would like to pick up rentals as well as the occasional flip. Now, I'm looking for a solid bank to do business with. Any help would be appreciated.

Is it smart to have personal and business accounts at the same bank?

 Welcome to BP and getting started on your real estate journey. Talk to your CPA, or if you don't have one just read the forums here and the articles and posts by @Amanda Han and @Brandon Hall and @Linda Weygant and @Jim Kennedy and many many other CPA's and you're likely to get the answer to make sure you set up a separate LLCs for doing flips and buying rentals. There are tax reasons for why to do this...I'm not a CPA but that's what mine told me. 

Now with regards to a lender...your best bet is going to be a local community bank and/or credit union. There may be some investors in your area here on BP so use the search feature at the top to look for those members and reach out to them. If not than most states have on the State's State Department Website (or something similarly titled) a list of banking institutions who are legally registered as banks in the state you're in. Just google something like "Banks in Mississippi" and chances are one of the options on the first few pages of google will be the link to the state government website you're looking for. Then start making phone calls. I did this for many banks. Delaware is a small enough state that I actually started calling places in surrounding Maryland/Pennsylvania/New Jersey because everything is so close on the state borders. I ended up going with a credit union based in PA who was comfortable lending in Delaware. You'll make lots of calls where you wont get the answer you want. Keep a spreadsheet for Google Doc or something like that with all your notes and the names and numbers of everyone you talk to, because you never know when you'll need a new lender and you don't want all your research to go in vein. It also helps when you get more experienced to refer to others starting out. 

With regards to having personal and business accounts with a bank...yes they'll ask you to set up the accounts. How much money you actually put in them is another story. Some lenders will require minimum dollar amounts. At the end of the day it's about relationships...and you and the lender need to agree on what kind of relationship you're going to have. Unfortunately my current lender has decided to make my life miserable...so I'm probably looking to start dating a new banker soon :)