In this situation, how can I protect myself?

Since these companies are publicly traded, you can verify howmuch money they have10.

Meaning - I'm going to form the LLC for liability protection but wonder if I need to then transfer that property into the LLC ??

They can send you a list of thier properties that are listed and some of them will send you properties that aren't listed yet, but will be soon.If you area has public access to all listings in your area, you can start by searching in a certain area and looking for key words in the listing descriptions, such as "Lender Owned", "As-Is", "Bank Owned", etc.

Also there could be a lot of risk for the owner if the contract looks like seller financing and the tenant/buyer stops paying rent and it goes to court they could state because it is seller financing the Landlord/Owner has to foreclose instead of evict which is much more expensive and timely and in real estate time is money.A lease with the option to buy or Rent-to-Own is a better way to go for all parties, we use the Association of Realtors Lease for our state to make sure we follow all of the laws of our state to protect all parties and usually do up to three years, any longer and it could be considered seller financing.

I hooked up with him at an REI club meeting and used him for about 15 years.I live in a town that's pretty small (we got a HD 3 years ago), but obviously we're large enough to have a "contractors supply" (side road location, not generally interested in doing business with the public) and a "lumber yard" (busy highway location-definitely interested in everyone's business).

Therefore, this is one of the most reliable public tool.

Worth ProHabber, hehe) but will be teaching 3 of my 4 real estate investment courses for MCE Realtor credit as well as the public starting in mid-April.

To me its all about your support system and protecting your assets.Speaking of assets.

The number two rule is protect thy capital.