Newbie investor--want suggestion for financing options

[Sunayna Bashar]

Hello there BP community. I have a 9-5 stable job. but want to get my feet wet in the real estate world for financial independence and flexibility that will better suit my lifestyle.

i have friends and family who are interested to invest as well and we are planning to share any workload, profits etc. equally. we are mainly interested in Multi Family.

my questions are,

1. since there are multiple people involved, is it better to form an LLC and then proceed?

2. since we are just starting out, is it possible to get a loan for our first property? Would anybody be willing to give out loan to a just recently formed LLC?

3. If getting loan is not possible for first few investments, is it better to look at cheaper markets and pay all cash?

4. Would the possibility of getting a loan higher if we do not form the LLC and apply for loan. lenders would probably look at our personal profiles individually? this is just an idea. i am not sure if that's even possible!

5. If we pay all cash, would it make any difference whether we form the LLC or not, assuming we have good understanding and offline written agreements among the partners? what could be the risks of not having an LLC in this case?

[Tanner Sherman]

Originally posted by @Sunayna Bashar:

Hello there BP community. I have a 9-5 stable job. but want to get my feet wet in the real estate world for financial independence and flexibility that will better suit my lifestyle.

i have friends and family who are interested to invest as well and we are planning to share any workload, profits etc. equally. we are mainly interested in Multi Family.

my questions are,

1. since there are multiple people involved, is it better to form an LLC and then proceed?

2. since we are just starting out, is it possible to get a loan for our first property? Would anybody be willing to give out loan to a just recently formed LLC?

3. If getting loan is not possible for first few investments, is it better to look at cheaper markets and pay all cash?

4. Would the possibility of getting a loan higher if we do not form the LLC and apply for loan. lenders would probably look at our personal profiles individually? this is just an idea. i am not sure if that's even possible!

5. If we pay all cash, would it make any difference whether we form the LLC or not, assuming we have good understanding and offline written agreements among the partners? what could be the risks of not having an LLC in this case?

I will start with the standard disclaimer that the best person to answer all of these questions would be a qualified real estate attorney, so please consult with one prior to making any decision regarding the entity structure you will form. 

My personal opinion is to form the LLC especially because you have multiple people involved, so that you can have a crystal clear operating agreement and everyone knows their roles and responsibilities.

As far as lending goes, if you can qualify for a loan in your personal name alone, you should have no problem getting approved for a loan with your partners on it as well. Before you have the history with your LLC, it will likely be recourse meaning you and your partners will have to personally guarantee the loan.

Even if you pay cash for a property, an LLC is still necessary in order to protect your personal assets from your investment property.