Owner Occupy/House Hack in MA - Land Trust or LLC?

[David Santore]

I'm currently living in a duplex, and getting ready to rent out my second unit soon.  I will continue to live there with the tenant in the second unit, so this is a house hack.  This is my first and only property, and will likely be my only property in the foreseeable future.

I'm just looking for asset protections should someone come after me.  I've read that LLCs are overkill unless I have multiple properties or planning on lots of flips.  Is a Land Trust the best approach for this in MA?  How long do these take to set up?

[John Warren]

HI @David Santore I have helped quite a few people in the Berwyn/Forest Park area house hack, and this is a common question. The answer lies in how you are financing the property. If this is all cash, you can do whatever you want, but if you are using a loan you have to find out what the lender will let you do. I know most lenders are not actually ok with these types of loans going into LLC's. Land Trusts are a different story. I have heard mostly negative opinions on their ability to provide asset protection from attorneys, but obviously you would need to consult an attorney to get a more educated opinion.