Business structure in NH to hold a 5 unit retail building?

Question

Hi All,

I'm jumping in the deep end.

My first real estate investment is in the works and it's an owner financed 5 unit fully rented retail building. Owner has no loan against the property, so this is just between me and them. They're a nice, retired couple that moved to FL. and don't want to be bothered anymore.

My question is how to structure my end so that I protect myself from the property and the property from my other business. I own a company pulling lead paint out of houses in MA. and while I'm well insulated against lawsuit (the state inspector has to sign off on my work before issuing a Lead Certificate, transferring liability to him) you just never know what a lawyer will try. If I ever get sued, I'd like them to not even know that I own real estate. If I can keep my name off the deed and off the LLC it would be ideal. I know this can be done through a WY. LLC, but that would take a couple weeks to set up and I want this done ASAP.

Is there a way to create a Trust, open the LLC in the name of the Trust, then take deed to the property in the LLC name? Is that allowed in NH? NH also has "charging order protection" (a good thing) but not against single member LLCs, so that's something else I'm trying to figure out. If the Trust owns the LLC, that would make it a "single member" LLC, correct?

Thanks in advance for any input!

Derreck

Lou Veiga · Answer

Hi Derreck,

Congrats on jumping into the deep end!

I recently created an LLC that is owned by my revocable trust and transferred my rental property into the LLC. So, to answer your first question, it is allowed in NH. As far as the charging order protection, I'm not sure about that. I think you may need to consult with a lawyer.

I will say that the way my LLC was filed with the state, it didn't really give me the level of anonymity that I thought it would since I am still named as the the manager of the LLC which is public record. I suppose if you can list the trust as the member or the manager of the LLC, and your name is not associated with it (except in the the operating agreement which is not public record) then you might be able to remain anonymous. But I don't know if that is possible. Again, I think it might be worth it to get some legal advice.

Good luck and let me know if you get any more info on this. I'd be curious to know what you find out.

Thanks,

Lou

Ronald Rohde · Answer

You should definitely put it in an LLC, can be owned by the WY entity. That is a fairly robust structure, but nothing is truly 100%.

When do you close on the FL property?

Business structure in NH to hold a 5 unit retail building?

2 Replies