All Forum Posts by: Zach Gentner

Thanks for the follow up, guys. I'm also interested in which types of insurance you might recommend for my situation. Are both liability and umbrella policies important to have in my scenario?

I'm financing the home myself with a 20% down payment to avoid PMI. I'm also aware that an LLC does not protect me entirely, but I've heard that it makes it more difficult for a lawyer to seek damages from my personal assets. (I don't have too many assets. None are what I would call tangible, but I do have what I would consider a sizable amount invested in the stock market for my age.)

I've also considered property management, but I feel that the tenants would know I am the homeowner being that we are in such close proximity to them. This would be another reason I'd like to form an LLC. I could put something like XYZ Investments as the 'agent' on our rental agreement. Unless the tenant does a search online, they wouldn't know that I am the owner.

Hey, BiggerPockets!

I'm a long time reader of the forums and I have a feeling that among the wealth of knowledge here, that someone would have an answer to this question. Any of your sage wisdom, advice, and comments are appreciated! First off, let me preface my question with some backstory.

I've been keen on the idea of rental properties for some time now and have finally made the plunge. My original idea was to purchase a multi-family home and house hack, but a better deal came my way. In just over a week, I'm due to close on my first home. To me, it seems like the perfect setup, but I'm concerned about the legal repercussions in the event of a lawsuit.

The primary home is about 1650sqft, 3 bed, 2 bath on a 3 acre parcel with a smaller 625sqft, 1 bed, 1 bath "mother-in-law" house tucked to one side of the property. Each house has separate utilities and even separate addresses. The former owner was allowing a friend to live in the small house rent free. Being that this friend is due to vacate upon closing, I'm looking to start generating cash flow by renting it ASAP.

My first thought was perhaps an umbrella insurance or liability insurance policy would cover losses, but I want to set this up so that my personal assets are untouchable in a court of law. Is this something my homeowners policy would cover? Does my homeowners policy cover the tenant since they are on the same piece of land?

Now, I know it may seem improbable, but I want to cover my bases in the event of a sue happy tenant. (I'll be screening them, so hopefully we can avoid those ones.) Am I being too paranoid about this? I know that advice posted here is not substitute for that of an attorney, but do I have reason to meet with one?

My original idea was to form a holding LLC and subsequent LLC's for each property, but I'm not sure I can do that unless I split the parcel. (A split would not be ideal, as I plan on making the larger house my primary residence.) Like I said, I'm new to world of real estate renting and I want to do things right so that I'm protected. As my grandfather always said, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thank you for your time and I wish you all a belated Happy New Year!

Thanks to everyone for their input! I'll be sure to check out the resources mentioned and get started on expanding my network within my community. I'm already a part of some young entrepreneur groups and have a solid reputation for owning a local business. But, I could pursue it with more fervor.

Your time is much appreciated, thank you all!

Hello, BiggerPockets!

I wanted to make an introduction and ask some of the real estate veterans here their advice on where I should start investing. Any books or resources would also be of great assistance to me! So, let me provide a little background about myself and my financial situation.

I graduated college with a business management degree and 40k in debt in December of 2015. At the start of 2016, I didn't really have a direction and felt prey to the outrageous interest rates of my private student loans. So, I moved back in with my parents to cut down on expenses and began plotting out my life ambitions.

After some time deliberating what I'd do for a career and applying for a handful of jobs, a business opportunity presented itself. A local store was for sale, the financials were great, and my parents were looking for an investment of their own. Using their purchasing power, we were able to fund payment for the business and I began working there full time.

Fast forward to today. I have paid off my student loans in full and have a decent amount building up in my savings account. I'd like to make my move into investing in real estate once I have enough to cover any potential capital expenditures and a modest down payment. My idea of my first purchase has always been that I would buy into a multi-family home, such as a duplex, and rent out one half, while living in the other. I thought it might give me a good idea of what being a landlord would be like, while also providing some experience in the business.

The only issues are that I don't really care much for the location I'm living currently. We have a college, but outside of the school year there aren't a lot of people my age that stick around here. The economy, while being enough to sustain our business, doesn't seem to be great for the housing market. Ideally, I'd like to move to a place where my properties might have a higher chance to appreciate in value and finding a tenant wouldn't be quite as difficult as I think it would be here.

Is it possible to have properties in different states or far away cities at my age, or would you dissuade me from making that leap now? If you have any insights into my situation I'd be glad to hear them.

Thanks for reading!

-Zach

tl;dr: I'm a recent graduate looking for investing wisdom, books, information. Any resources, books, or tips would be a tremendous help!