On your lease - Do you put yoursef as Landlord or your LLC?

[Ron DeMaria]

Greetings,

So my simple question is when you sign a lease with a tenant, do you place yourself as the "Landlord" or do you place your LLC as the landlord?

In my previous leases, I have stated my name as the Landlord, and I am realizing it's not too smart, since if (when!) there is a judgement my name would be on record - for a longtime - even though this was a business dealing and not a personal deal.

In my case, I own my properties in my name and self-manage my properties with a Single member LLC., and I am thinking of using the LLC name as the "Landlord". Then, for any judgements the LLC would be named. So, this is not about evading risk but to keep my business and personal dealings separate.

Thoughts? 

Much appreciated!

Ron

[Scott L.]

Significant liability attaches to ownership as well as management. Your LLC isn't really buying you any protection unless it owns title to the property. I manage a couple properties this way, but am under no illusion that it provides any liability benefits. It's more like a trade name and DBA for me, and a way to manage my financials.

And to answer your question, the landlord is the OWNER of the property. If you specify the LLC as the owner when it is not, then you may not have a valid lease. I list the LLC as my "property manager" and payment address.