Mortgage in my name but Property Title in LLC name?

[Ed Goble]

Long story short. I got a Wyo LLC in order to have anonymity.

I want to buy the houses in the name of the LLC and not my name. I have been told that is ok, even though the properties will be in another state and not Wyoming, because that income from rentals will be "passive". I have also been told that in order to do fix and flips in my state, I ought to get yet another LLC in my state, because that is "active".

I was referred to a Loan Officer by my realtor.

Now the Loan Officer tells me that the mortgages for the properties that will be bought and held for rentals have to be in my name and not in the name of the LLC, but the title to the properties will be in the name of the LLC. And I'm like, What?? How does that preserve my anonymity if the liens on the properties are in my name? Cant people look up in a discovery process, heaven forbid, that I am associated with the liens on the properties and it doesn't preserve my anonymity. What's the use of having an anonymous LLC if they can discover who I am by looking up the liens? It doesn't sound right to me. Should I be looking for another loan officer?

Thoughts?

[Jerry W.]

@Ed Goble, the goal of anonymity for an active real estate investor is really a unicorn.  It may sound nice but is not possible if you are active.  The trust is that none of the big movers on this site use anonymity.  There is a reason for it.  The only ones touting anonymity is the folks selling asset protection.  If you negotiate and sign the buyers offer, if you sign documents at closing, if you advertise for tenants, if you do the lease signing, if you buy the insurance, if you write the checks, if you call the plumbers or electricians to fix problems, if you sign the tax returns, if you open the bank accounts, if you sign the listing agreement with a property manager, the odds of your remaining anonymous in the event of a serious lawsuit are practically zero.  Discovery of production of documents, interrogatories, depositions, etc. will show that quickly.  The good news is that LLCs and other entities provide liability protection that really works if you follow the rules.  If you don't follow the rules anonymity doesn't matter anyway.