All Forum Posts by: Victor Menasce

There are multiple considerations, asset protection and tax treatment. It's true that Florida has pierced the corporate veil. There are other elements to consider including the capital structure. LLCs can take in money from members as equity or as a member loan. Loans are preferable from an asset protection perspective. But if the company is too thinly capitalized, (not defined) the Florida courts have ruled that the company is a shell and have gone after the members directly. From a tax perspective, a single member llc can be treated as a disregarded entity. Two or more requires a 1065 partnership return or a company filing. So your annual tax preparation just went up. If your properties are condos, most of the liability is being carried by the HOA. You can buy liability insurance to cover any gaps much cheaper than creating an elaborate structure.

Jennifer Castle as I'm sure you've heard, short term rentals like AirBnB are under assault by the city for non-payment of hotel tax. If the city wins (good chance) the short term rental industry will crumble. I know there has been talk of a negotiated settlement with AirBnB. But I'm not sure of the status. Before you borrow additional funds, make sure that your business plan is built on a sustainable foundation. It could turn into a house of cards if you're dependent on the AirBnB income for survival.

I've met Him and heard him speak several times. The $3,500 course will teach a few things. Expect an upsell to a higher priced offer. I'm 100% in favor of learning and mentors. I just don't like high pressure sales programs that strip rookies of their cash. I have several mentors myself. I pay one of them $25,000 a year. But I can afford it and can use the learning to leverage my revenue into real growth. As president of the Ottawa Real Estate Investors Organization, I get to see many speakers. I also say no to many who simply want to use our membership as a sales platform. Message me directly and I can share more than in a public forum.

You're thinking too broadly. If you want to excel in any business, focus on dominating smaller in order to get big. The top agents specialize. - luxury homes in Beverly Hills - laurel canyon - Costa Mesa (only W of 405) - only medical office buildings - only gas stations - only investors for multiunit residential You get the idea. Real estate is an intensely local business. Find a segment that is overlooked or badly serviced. But there has to be movement in that segment. If there's no money moving, none can fall in your pocket.

Let's be clear, an investment is something that brings you income. If it costs you money, it's called an expense. I can't see how a timeshare can bring you income. Therefore, it can't be an investment. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Marketing involves delivering a message to your specific target. Question is, who is your target? In my experience, the techniques they teach in seminars like bandit signs work very poorly. In order to sell a property to a buyer, you need to know what they want. Once you know that, then you have a wholesaling opportunity. The only way you can know that is by building a relationship with your buyers. For example, I have a relationship with a developer who wants 10-15 acre parcels that are zoned for multiunit residential. He wants to buy the land for under $2.00 per square foot. He wants smaller markets (100,000-300,000 population) with strong economic growth. Multiunit projects require visibility from main streets, and should be close to amenities like shopping. Knowing exactly what my buyer is looking for enables me to find the right deal. I may choose to develop it myself, or I may wholesale it. It depends on a number of factors. But finding deals is relatively easy when you know exactly what to look for. Perhaps a different perspective than you were expecting. I don't do a lot of wholesale deals. I do about one or two per year. The majority of my business is new construction. However, when I wholesale a property, I usually make a LOT of money on each deal. Hope that helps.

I invest in 6 different cities while living in Ottawa. I even have property in Ottawa. Canadians are one of the top foreign investors in US real estate. We also have a vibrant local investment community. For those of you in Ottawa, come and check out OREIO. It won the award as best real estate investors organization in Canada. Full disclosure. I'm president of OREIO in addition to my day job as a developer. So much opportunity, so little time. Cheers, Victor.

An indemnity is when one party agrees to hold the other harmless if something bad happens. For example, if you're my employee and you get sued for, say, negligence. I may choose to indemnify you against any negligence claims. In that case, I would cover the costs of any suit you may face. This is often backed by an insurance policy, but it doesn't have to be. Most indemnities are fairly specific as to what they cover and the extent of the liability they're willing to assume. Hope that helps.

@Jace Prozeller, you're on the right track. If you can't afford a single family home, then buy a duplex. The math usually works. 

But choosing an investment property is always about the laws of supply and demand. If lots of people are leaving town because oil development has slowed, then there will be high vacancy. You can often overcome that by offering a superior product at a market price. There is always junk in any market. You want to drive the vacancy to the junk in the market. That means having the most desirable offering in the market, without necessarily over-improving and spending too much. It's a delicate balance. 

@Anthony Kondor, we do a lot of transactions every year. About the only thing you can automate is sending out broadcast marketing messages. These are relatively ineffective. Very few people like to talk to a computer. They generally want to deal directly with a real person who is empowered to make decisions. This is hard to automate.

We acquired nearly 50 properties in the past year. Almost none of them were automated. It was done the old fashioned way. We have a repeatable system that is labor intensive, and requires direct contact and negotiation. 

I'm sorry to tell you that in our experience there are very few shortcuts that truly work. 

Securing funding requires 5 elements:

1) Relationship with the funder

2) Trust

3) Demonstrable track record

4) Have a compelling opportunity

5) Alignment with between the goals for the project and the funding partner goals. 

If any of these is missing, raising money gets very difficult. But if you have all 5 elements, raising capital is pretty straightforward.