All Forum Posts by: Linda Collins

@Melissa Hasan , just outside of Tucson AZ there is a boneyard of thousands of old military airplanes that are no longer used.  They just sit there collecting dust, waiting for their turn for the scrapyard or to have parts taken from them, or perhaps the distant chance that one day all hell breaks loose and we need thousands more military planes to defend ourselves.

Such is the same with LLCs for new real estate investors. Everyone that wants to try their hand at real estate investing is anxious to run out and create an LLC so they can get started.. Search the forums--it's one of the most commonly asked questions.

Somewhere out there (maybe it's in Tucson too?) there must be a boneyard for all of these scrapped LLCs. A high percentage of budding real estate investors don't make it.  Why?  Perhaps because they are focusing on the wrong things like entity structure when they should be focusing 100% of their energy and dollars on acquisition. 

So what am I saying? Forget about LLCs, go out and get deals done before you worry about that stuff. You can run your business in your own name for free. If you would rather be "ABC Homebuyers" than "Melissa Hasan" you can file a fictitious business name with your county clerk for less than a hundred bucks. You still take title to the real estate (and borrow money) in your personal name but your business cards, letters, etc can all have the business name. No LLC required. Better yet, you don't have to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for an unnecessary LLC and you won't take up more space in the graveyard of abandoned real estate LLCs if you decide that the lifestyle of the real estate entrepreneur isn't for you. Save the LLCs for when you hit the big time.