Participating in syndication as Investor; best legal entity?

[Roberto T.]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to invest in 4-5 real estate syndication deals in the next year. These are syndication managed by someone else, which I will participate as an investor. 

As part of this, I have a question regarding the legal structure that could be used to own these investments. Many thanks in advance for your input.

My primary question is do I need an LLC to be the entity that is investing in these syndication(s)? The ownership of any property will be through the syndication entity, so I am wondering if there are any benefits to investing via my own LLC in this case?

From reading other posts, I've gathered that:

1) LLCs can over asset protection

2) LLCs can offer anonymity 

However, in this particular case, there is another entity in between me and the properties owned (the syndication's entity). 

Separately, I have researched that to get asset protection benefits, one needs to keep separate bank accounts. I plan on using income from these investments for my living expenses so there isn't really going to be a case where these are separate. Even if I have two accounts (one for LLC and one for me), I would transfer each month or quarter all of the money to my personal account.

Thanks again for your time. Looking forward to learning from your knowledge and experience.