Business lawyers and operating agreement

[Jenna Bamlet]

I'm relatively new to real estate investing in Jacksonville, NC and would like to start my own Brrr property. I am currently a member of Nail and Bolt L.L.C. There are four of us on this L.L.C. We have successfully completed one flip and sell. Per our L.L.C. we are to have a operation agreement. Granted we are all new to the real estate investing world and still learning as we go. I have found a property and taken the lead on it. I am using Do Hard Money for the financing and I am in the final process, just waiting for an investor to invest. I want to be able to protect myself legally and I'm not sure what the best type of operating agreement would be best since this property will be my personal rental and not Nail and Bolt L.L.C. 

I'm looking to find the best way to go about this legally with the other managing members of Nail and Bolt L.L.C. One of my partners have invested a portion of money needed for closing, so I'll need to legally have his investment written up properly per his return and for tax purposes. Also per our L.L.C., the way I understand it is each member has 25% stake so legally, unless stated on the operating agreement, they are entitled to 25% of said property. 

I'm not sure how to write it up legally to protect myself from any member from trying to claim a percentage of a property that they were not a part of. 

Nail and Bolt L.L.C. was originally started so that each of it's members can use the L.L.C. to not only have financing available, but also so that each of us could have our own properties being renovated. That's the importance of the operating agreement. It shall state that the other three members are not a part of this property and will have no tax responsibly or any right to any profit made on this property.   

[Tony Figurelli]

@Jenna Bamlet, I agree with the above statements. It sounds like you want Nail and Bolt to be the parent company. I would look into making another LLC for your current project, members of this LLC being you and the partner that has invested money for the closing. Figure out that partners investment % and that would be their LLC ownership %. If you have multiple projects going on at the same time, I would personally make an LLC for each project so the assets in your projects are protected from each other just in case something goes wrong.