All Forum Posts by: Dan Miller

Hi all,

I just set up my LLC and now want to get some business cards, and email address, and at least reserve a domain name.

Can anyone recommend a good place to order biz cards or to design a logo for a reasonable price (<$100 for a logo)? Where can I reserve a domain name, and how do I set up an email address that is <yourname>? HOw much should I expect to pay for a domain? How much for the email address?

Thanks!

One way around the banks limiting the ability to assign contracts is to buy with a new LLC (i.e. 123 Main St, LLC) and then assign your interest in the LLC to the end buyer. In this case, you're not assigning the contract: 123 Main St, LLC is still buying the property, but you no longer own 123 Main St, LLC.

Note that I have not yet done this, but this is what my mentor has told me. I will be structuring all of my deals this way at the outset.

Dan

If I have an LLC in which I conduct my business, how do I actually take profits out of that LLC for personal use (i.e. pay myself) w/o piercing the corporate veil and losing my liability protection?

Are there general rules around keeping personal and business activities separate that I want to be sure I don't violate? My main question, though, is how, as a newbie investor with a deal here and there, I actually personally receive the profits from my LLC while still maintaining the asset protection of the LLC.

Thanks!

Dan

Another LLC question on registered agents. Sorry if these are minute details (they feel big to me, but perhaps they're not).

Scenario: I set up an LLC in one state (in this case, DC) and then qualify it as a foreign entity in another state (VA). I have a friend who will serve as the registered agent (or I could use a service to be the RA and pay $129 per year). Then I set up another LLC to buy a property in VA. For that new LLC, I believe I can use my foreign LLC as the registered agent, but what address would I put since the business address is in DC, and the RA address must be in VA?

Hopefully that makes sense.

Thanks!

When you say "do it myself," in either case you are running the show. The only difference is that in one case, your operating LLC (the one on your business card) is the member (added layer of asset protection, I guess) and in the other case, you're the member.

I am set to begin wholesaling, and one of the first steps for me is to form an operating entity (LLC) which will serve several purposes: 1) the name on my business cards, website, etc. 2) be the name on my business banking account/credit card.

With wholesaling, I plan to form a different and new entity for any property I put under contract (i.e. 123 Main St, LLC). This enables me to simply assign the LLC to an end buyer rather than assigning a contract. My question is when I do this, should the member of 123 Main St, LLC be my operating LLC or should it be me? Remember that all the checks will be coming out of my business account which has my operating LLC name on it. Does it matter?

Thanks!

I acknowledge that, which is why I'm asking for help. I'm trying to be completely honest without sugar-coating it. The reality is that they will get paid full commission, plus I can refer them to other investors/friends, plus I am offering to do almost all of the work (if they let me).

How would you approach an agent to make this more appealing?

I'm a new investor, working to get my first wholesale deal done. I've been talking to several realtors, trying to get them to join my team, but most so far have seemed reluctant, so I wonder if it's in the way I'm pitching it. What I"m seeking is an agent who can help me get comps, send me listings in a specific neighborhood, and submit offers on my behalf.

I'm currently learning a system in which the goal is to submit relatively low offers (often 55-60% of ARV) to test teh waters for motivation. Submitting those 30-40 offers may yield me 1-2 counteroffers, in which we can make a deal. I also tell agents that I'm willing to do as much of that offer submission work as they are comfortable letting me do once they teach me how to fill out the contract the first time. I offer this b/c I recognize it can be time consuming.

The agents whom I've spoken to so far just seem hesitant given the time-suck. What am I doing wrong that is turning them all off from working with me? I feel like I'm either asking the wrong questions or pitching my approach in the wrong way.

Thanks,
Dan

Jon,

I have the detailed MLS comps, which has BR/BA, comments, etc, as well as pictures for some of the properties. The 430k one appears to be a short sale or REO (comment says, "bank approval required"), so I'd probably rule that out. On the rest it's hard to tell. Perhaps I'll just drive by the comps (as they are all within 4-5 blocks of each in other in the suburbs, and see if anything jumps out at me.

Thanks,
Dan

I've found a few foreclosure properties in the same neighborhood and am trying to figure out the ARV. A realtor has sent me recent comps, all of which are from Sept through Jan. '08. For this subdivision, they range from 430k to 580k. I'll assume the 580k property is an outlier, as it looks like it has a new addition, unlike the others. If I ignore the top and bottom comps, the range is still large: 440k to 530k, with a median of 500k.

My approach is to determining maximum offer is to take 70% of the ARV (from the comps) and then subtract my wholesale fee and rehab costs. In this case, I'm not clear as to what the ARV should be. There's such a large range (90k), with the median around 500k. Even reading the notes from the comps, there doesn't seem to be much discernable difference b/w a 440k and a 530k. Assuming 500k ARV vs. 440k could result in me overpaying big time. Just not sure what to do. How do I handle this? What should I use as the ARV?

Comps:

9/27/07 $430,000
11/2/07 $440,000
10/31/07 $499,000
9/14/07 $494,000
11/8/07 $503,000
11/9/07 $510,000
10/19/07 $530,000
10/24/07 $580,000
12/20/07 $515,000

Thanks,
Dan