LLC with Operating Agreement with Co-investors for Maryland

[Karl Kauper]

Hi All,

My wife and I plan to purchase some properties in Maryland with another couple. We live in NYC, and the other couple (friends of ours) currently live in NJ but will be moving to Virginia in the near future (I don't know if where we live is relevant to my questions). Our joint long-term goal is to create a cash-flowing RE business. We will be setting up an LLC in Maryland to hold title to the properties, and we want to also have an LLC operating agreement in place for legal reasons and also so that we all can have confidence about how the business will be run in the future. We can set up the LLC ourselves via online resources, but we will be hiring an attorney to at least draft the operating agreement for us. My main question is, do we need to use a Maryland-based attorney to draft the operating agreement, or does it not matter where the attorney is based? Also, are RE attorneys typically experienced with drafting this type of agreement our do we need to contact a different type of attorney, such as a corporate attorney? Thank you in advance for your help!

- Karl