All Forum Posts by: Julian Fung

Hey Gary

Im not an attorney or CPA, so please consult a professional before making any decisions.

That said, I've been reading up some about asset protection, and takeaways so far is:

1. Insurance + a traditional LLC will not provide best protection, as there are causes of loss where insurance does not cover, and you are betting on insurance to come through when they are working as hard as they can to find a way to deny coverage to reduce loss payout

2. Putting all your assets into a single traditional LLC entity does not provide great protection. If insurance does not come through, all your assets within that LLC is at risk.

3. The best two strategies for real estate asset protection that I've heard many times are i) Wyoming Holding LLC (for anonymity and charging order protection) + creating individual LLCs for each of your assets OR ii) Texas Series LLC as Holding company + creating individual series in the Holding LLC to hold each asset, and then have an Operating LLC that you own as an individual. The operating LLC will then take possession of, but not title to, each of your series assets. The operating LLC will be your she'll company and interact with tenants, contractors, professional services etc, and hold no assets. If a tenant Sue's, they have to sue the operating company which holds no assets so you limit your losses.

These two methods are highly debated because the series LLC is fairly untested in courts.

I'm still learning about all this so I'm interested to see what others have to say!

@Christopher Brainard

I see. Yes you're right, I do know that there are still flippers (in A/B areas) making profits here, but they are definitely more selective and have access to off-market deals. I had a friend that bought a distressed property in B+ neighborhood and flipped it - it appraised for a nice margin (still waiting to sell).

Just curious, were most of your deals in DFW obtained off-market? How are you finding these deals?

@Geordy Rostad what a great idea! Very creative.

I've also heard of people partitioning their home (as long as the floorplan allows for it) and then renting out parts of it. 

Love the ideas; thanks for sharing!

@Christopher Brainard thanks for the thoughts and insights! Great way to analyze if it makes sense to rent/buy.

I love the idea of house hacking - it makes so much sense, and am trying to find ways to make it work, but in my local market (DFW area) it is extremely difficult to find affordable small MFRs to perform this; unless you buy in C or D areas.

Like a subpar duplex that needs at least 25-35k rehabs in B neighborhoods are selling for $400k+ and barely cashflows, if at all. At this point it might be just easier to buy a primary for appreciation (maybe rent out a room). DFW area seems to be more of an appreciation market than cashflow. 

Just trying to evaluate the best ways to deploy capital, but at the same time don't want to waste the benefits/opportunities for first time primary home buyer.

Hey guys!!

Was wondering if there are any investors out there who own a few or more rental properties, but still pay rent for their primary residence? Any examples of when this would make sense doing?

I see overwhelming posts/strategies on rental properties, but no one ever talks about their primary home strategies outside of house hacking. 

If you had enough capital to do 2-5 deals and did not yet own a primary residence, what would be some of the best uses for that capital?

Extremely curious to hear your thoughts!!

@Audrey X. thanks for the insights. Super helpful.

I've realized that condos and townhouses really do have more intricacies than SFHs and you need to tread with care.

@Walter Roby jr Thanks for the tip! That makes sense - I'd have to research the particular HOA to get a good feel on how they run, as that would dictate the quality of my investment greatly.

Do you know if it is substantially harder to sell condos than SFHs? I can't get a good feel without actually going through the process. I don't want to buy something that I don't have the slightest change of exiting in the future.

Hello Bigger Pockets community; happy Friday!

I am looking to potentially invest in a condo in the DFW area (about 15-20 mins north of downtown). My strategy would be long term buy and hold/rent.

The condos caught my attention because they seem to be substantially cheaper than same-size SFHs, on top of taking HOAs into consideration for monthly payments. I know Zillow's Zestimates are not the most accurate, but the trend I've found is that most SFHs in DFW are typically listed close or above Zestimates, but many condos are listed at 5-25% below Zestimates.

Though I'd like to buy and hold, it's always wise to consider exit strategy. I have a few questions in mind:

1. I have heard that condos are harder to sell than SFHs, but I'm curious how much harder it is to sell? Seeing that they are listed so much cheaper currently, it only makes me wonder.
2. Is it more difficult to rent a condo than an SFH? This is in a location right by hospital, mall, train station, and popular hiking/biking trail. It has pretty bad schools though.
3. Any other thoughts/advice on this subject?

Would appreciate all your thoughts, advice, and feedback. Thanks guys!

@Brandon L. thanks for the advice. Make sense that the best value to offer is more closings.

So Brandon Turner talks a lot in his book about frequently offering "ridiculous" offers to get great deals. How would you go about doing this with your RAE if you wanted to find a good deal while you're not in a rush to buy a property immediately?

Thanks Joe. I forgot to mention that said RAE owns 6 rental properties and is in tune with the investor mindset.