All Forum Posts by: Albert Ngo

They dont need to be local but if you're looking for someone who's a tax strategist alongside with CPA services I can give you someone. My person is in Chicago for example.

 Absolutely. Most of my tenants deposit directly into my bank account and they get a receipt. They can deposit cash or a check. Other use automatic bank ACH transfers, Zelle or PayPal. 

Some recent posts you discussed were LLC / Trust and using a HELOC to fund real estate projects.

Using a HELOC towards the purchase / downpayment of a rental property can potentially be deductible as a business expense. Something to be mindful.

Therefore, if you purchase a property using 10% cash, 10% withdrawal of a HELOC and 80% convential loan, you can theoretically have both the interest on the conventional loan and heloc be tax deductible.

@Albert Ngo The location of your CPA isn't as crucial as their experience with real estate. Many CPAs on this forum have clients and properties across the U.S. Do you have properties in other states?

@Albert Ngo - You are at the point where even a good CPA shouldn't advise on your entity structure, you need to spend the money and find a good lawyer. 

I do like the other peoples points on an scorp for business, strong insurance policies, and maybe doing a refi before transfering. 

@Albert Ngo - You are at the point where even a good CPA shouldn't advise on your entity structure, you need to spend the money and find a good lawyer. 

I do like the other peoples points on an scorp for business, strong insurance policies, and maybe doing a refi before transfering. 

hey man, congrats on building this portfolio, 3M is a good milestone. What I would suggest is not to roll your properties into LLCs (if they are residentials) until you have done a cash-out refinance on them. You cannot do that under an LLC and it is a great tool of leverage to scale your portfolio faster.

After you do that, then it is the right time to move them under an LLC each and roll that LLC into your Trust.

There is a lot to unpack here.  I don't know all the details of your situation and am not an attorney. From what you said, I would focus on totally different issues.

It would seem that your plumbing work creates the biggest liability for you. You did not state how you were running that business. If you are just being a sole proprietor, with no entity, that is probably your biggest risk and the first thing I would resolve. Put your plumbing company in an LLC or S-Corp. (Talk to your attorney) I'd also make sure I had excellent liability insurance for that business.

It would seem your next biggest risk is that you have a paid-in-full property.  Scam artists and ambulance chasers love those!  They shy away from properties with a mortgage because there isn't much equity there and any change to the deed would require involving the bank.

An easy way to add protection is to get an umbrella liability policy. These are typically written off of your personal residence.

Finally, I would say whether or not you have an LLC has nothing to do with your bookkeeping issues. You can have a separate credit card you use and separate bank account for a property even if it is in your name. You should talk to your CPA about how to best accomplish this. If you create an LLC and then don't manage the finances right, you could have our LLC thrown out in a lawsuit. LLCs are just security blankets for many people because it makes them feel better but because they are not managed properly, they really provide no protection.