All Forum Posts by: David Spinnenweber

Every one here is so nice and friendly. There doesn't seem to be any shunning of teh new people, like when the new came in to class. IS this pretty standard in this business? I have found its pretty common in my Jeep club, everyone welcomes everyone else with open arms.

A group treating people like this, sadly, is the exception to the rule. I'm complaining at all, in fact, I like it and will pay it forward. Just wanted to state, that I have only begun posting in the last few days and I feel so welcome here. If this is pretty normal, I wont be nervous about going to a local REI club meeting by my self.

I also am in the process of fixing my credit. Sept of 2010 I was a 500. Right now I am a 655. I got a lot of inaccuracies removed from my report, and had creditors from the past remove negative information on my reports just by asking them too. I have since opened new credit (I had none for a few years) and have better understanding of how credit works and hot care for it.

If i may, I recommend going to myfico.com, then join the communities. There is a ton of info there and the people there have helped me in my huge gains in credit score. If anyone would like more info, I will be more than happy to write in detail how I did it.

Figured I should come in here and introduce myself. I joined a while ago but jest the other day felt the need to post, as the search bar has been able to answer most of my questions.

Anyway, I am a 29yr old single dad. I currently work for a public funded transportation agency that is falling apart, and putting my job at risk within the next 6 month. However I am staring a influx of cash in the face, as I am about to settle an insurance claim in the coming months. After everything settles and I pay off my school loans, credit cards, etc, I should have 50k to fund a new corp into REI. If I loose my job over the summer, I would like to be able to do REI full time, but I am more concerned with getting my first deal done.

I am thinking about going into fix/flip a few houses in cash, build my cash on hand then buy a rental, then flip a few more, then buy a rental, etc etc. I might even get into mobile homes as I have been reading alot about lonnie deals. Since I only have 50k in cash, I like that I could get into mobiles for low out of pocket cash.

Any reccomendations? am I planning this backwards? Is 50k enough to get started? I could up it 75k if I dont pay off my student loans, but I like the idea of being debt free, especially if I loose my job.

I have been lurking here for a long while, learning what I can, and hopefully make a few contacts in the coming months. I still need to learn the ins and outs and would like to see a deal work, or find a mentor if at all possible before I start throwing money around. If anyone lives or does any business in the Pittsburgh area, drop me a line.

Dave

Its about building a corp that will be able to support my family and myself. Protecting my income and the company assets from my ex is also a concern, yes. But not in a way that will prevent my son from getting what he needs. ;)

But back to my original question, would a c-corp that pays me a simple salary be my best bet to keep my income low, and be able to reinvest the company money without it being used to figure child support?

I don't trust anyone enough to legally have control over my money by them running the corp.

Its my understanding that no matter if it is a closely held corp, it still wont matter as the corp is its own entity and I am nothing but an employee. Also, at this point she doesn't have an attorney.

I know that kids will cost more as they get older, that is why I am trying to get my REI career going now, so that I can afford to supply him with everything he needs. I said he doesnt need anything to illustrate that I am not a dead beat dad. I dont want the mantra of a cheap, child support dodging, uncaring, dad who is trying to screw his child for his own benefit. I am the complete opposite. I just dont want to get hit with a 1500/mo child support payment because I flipped a few houses and still make 36k/yr.

The reason I would keep the money in the corp is for future investments. Buy and hold, larger flips, etc. Not for dodging child support. When the company is doing well enough that I can afford a steady salary from it, I will have no problem paying the support order based on teh increased income from the corp. But if my support order is based on the first 2 deals and wipes out all the capital in the corp, then it was a waste of time and loss of investment. Putting me in a worse situation now as I am currently not in arrears. With a new order based on a few flips as income, the order could easily go over my current pay checks. Leaving me in a really bad spot.

Not trying to dodge support. Trying to build a company. Unless a support order has simply ended my chances for being successful in REI......

I have been reading here for a few months and finally needed to post (the search answers almost all my questions before i needed to post). When it comes to the different entities I am thinking that a C-corp might serve me best. I am aware that most people dont like the C-corp because of the double taxation.

In my situation, I think it would be better as I need to limit my income as much as possible. You see, I have a child support order against me for my 2yr old son. Now, before anyone thinks I am trying to get out of paying for him, and doing my duty, and I am dead beat dad, just wait. I am none of those. I am very involved in my sons life, I pay my support every month, never been late. I am actually ahead on it. I have no problem paying it, it is my responsibility, so I do as I must. However, his mother is leach on society and is getting every gov hand out she can get, and only wants more. As soon as she thinks I am making more money she files for an adjustment to the support order. Right now, I give her $500/mo.

In PA, the order is not based on a set percentage. But rather a sliding scale based on total income of both parents, and percentage of the total each parent puts in to the total, and how much of that amount should be spent on the child. In short terms, the more you make, progressively the more you pay. Its not a matter of the child needing anything, he has everything he could ever need. And i have never denied him anything he needed, and want to be in a financial position in the future to ensure that I have the ability to provide him with everything he will need.

That being said, I don't think an LLC or S-corp would be a wise decision for me as they flow through to my taxes as earnings. I don't want to rehab a few properties and have my taxes at the end of the year show 100k+ income when in fact I didn't take the money out of the company. Then when she files for adjustment, they base my payment on the income of the company leaving me with 1500/mo child support payments that I wouldnt be able to afford.

I am planning on doing a couple fix/flips, and some mobile homes, then once I build up some cash I want to buy and hold properties for passive/long term income. I figure with the C-corp, the company could hold the profits, and pay me a VERY modest part time salary while I work my current job (which maybe in jeopardy this summer as I work for a public funded transit agency). When/if I get laid off I will take a salary that will be just enough to pay my bills and do REI fulltime. (This is how it works in my head, but we'll see.) I am planning on funding the company with an initial 50k in cash.

I told you all that, to ask you this. Would a C-corp be a wise choice for me? or is there some other option I am missing?

Thanks in advance,

Dave