All Forum Posts by: Leon D.

That won't qualify as a nonprofit. What you're proposing is just a for-profit corporation that donates to charity.

To quote the IRS: "To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual."

If you organize as a non-profit anyway, the IRS will hit you with tax fraud.

Without a job, you have no income. Without income, you can't pay the mortgage. And before you say the tenant will pay the mortgage, what happens if the tenant flakes out on you? How would you pay the bank?

Why would any lender give you money if they don't reasonably think they'll get it back? Or are you expecting to get something for nothing? 

That's entirely up to the lender, you'd have to ask them. Since you're "new to the game," odds are that you won't get two loans simultaneously, but it's certainly possible that after about a year or so you would be able to get another loan, having begun to prove yourself as a good risk.

@Monique Rene Coates You are correct, it doesn't have to be from a bank, It could be from Vanguard or Fidelity or some other financial institution, too. The point is, it has to actually be your money. In your possession. Under your control.

Wikipedia: "A proof of funds (POF) is a document or bank statement proving that a person has the financial ability to perform a transaction."

Investopedia: "A document that demonstrates that a person has the ability and funds available to use for a transaction. It usually comes in the form of a bank, security or custody statement."

InvestorWords: "Documentation issued by a qualified financial institution declaring that the accountholder has sufficient funds to be used on payment for a large purchase. It should be noted that a proof of funds is a popular vehicle for fraud, used by con artists and in real estate fraud."

eHow: "[A proof of funds letter is] a memorandum issued by your financial institution that confirms the total amount of money that is currently deposited in your bank accounts."

I'm sorry, but you do not have a POF. A POF does not have any contingencies or criteria. You bought an empty promise. You've been scammed. They took your money in exchange for some sort of potential letter of credit, contingent on you and the deal meeting a list of vague criteria. 

@Monique Rene Coates, anything this "company" is promising you is not a POF. A POF is a (semi) official document from a bank or other financial institution that verifies the amount of money you have available (either yours personally or under your direct control) that is not otherwise obligated to something else.

Anything else is variously just a promise, a lie, or a scam.

A prof of funds letter (POF) is exactly that: a document that proves you have the funds. Actual cash. Not a commitment, not a promise, not an approval, not a wish. If you don't have the $500k in cash or cash equivalents, then you have a pre-approval or loan commitment, either of which can be withdrawn if the lender so deigns. 

The very definition of proof requires that something actually does exist, not that it probably 99.99% will.

@Joe Villeneuve is spot on. Hold on to those LLC's. A pain to deal with perhaps, but they'll be well worth having if something goes south.

So long as you really maintain them as entities unique from you personally (bank accounts, record keeping, bill payments, etc), the LLC's should be pretty well able to resist an enthusiastic, hostile attorney.

There absolutely is an advantage to official recognition of increased value, as you said: leverage. Just be reasonable confident that 1) there is an increase in value, and 2) you can take advantage of it.

I'm not advising anyone to file a false complaint. If he genuinely believes he's being discriminated againstfir whatever reason, he has the right to attempt a remedy by all the avenues open to him under the law. You don't have to like it; he has the right to pursue it whether any non-official thinks he should or not. If he has something, good for him. If there's nothing, then there's nothing. 

A smart landlord would certainly see this tenant as agitated (and likely to cause some grief) and offer a month's credit or something similar, a variation of the old "cash for keys" deal, and/or offer a few leads for relocation.

That said, the lease certainly controls, unless for example white tenants who complain always seem to get a pass from the landlord and minorities do not...

Fairfax County addresses the issue at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/consumer/tenant/tenan...    If he wants to call the Fairfax County Human Rights Commission, he has the right. Let an expert decide the merits.

@Russell Brazil, I don't find it insulting that you believe I'm encouraging him to file a false complaint. I find it insulting that you actually accuse me of doing so and being unethical.

Again, if you're not willing to take the risks of land lording, don't be one. All of my tenants are corporate, precisely because I don't ever want to deal with unpredictable issues like this (valid or not). If you rent to individuals, you must accept that this will happen, no matter how much you may moan about your deductible and premiums.

@Russell Brazil, there's no need to cast aspersions or be insulting.

These state and Federal agencies exist for a reason: to help those that can't help themselves, or don't know what their rights are. This man feels he's being discriminated against. No, noise complainers are not a protected class. If he talks to the department and they tell him nothing's actionable, so be it. If the person he speaks to is reminded of another minority who complained about the same thing six months or six years ago with the same landlord, then there's an issue. 

If you're not prepared for the risks of land lording, don't become one.