Once you own your first property you can file your LLC and then at some point transfer the property into the LLC.   

They may transfer the payments to you out of his proceeds and have him keep the  actual check.

If you expect to need a new $10000 roof in 25 years, then transfer $34 from your rent income each month to a replacement reserve account.  

Note that in general (*) all the above use ACH as the "vehicle" for monetary transfer.

In WA the seller pays the transfer taxes and owner's title insurance policy.  

Always be ready for corporate downsize, or for the wind to change direction and your employer tells you you're being transferred to a place you wouldn't want to visit; let alone live.

I've done both, but prefer to use an attorney and do a formal closing, it solidifies in the sellers mind that they have actually transfered ownership.

Thanks,My guess is that some newer investors find hiring contractors to be a daunting task (which it most certainly as for newbie investors) and they think that by partnering with a contractor, it relieves them of the responsibility of having to do their due diligence, put together a scope of work, put together a budget, etc.The problem with that reasoning is that they aren't relieving themselves of the responsibility -- they are just transferring it to someone who probably isn't any better at than they are, and are locking themselves into a relationship that would be a lot more difficult to extract themselves from than just firing a contractor.Plus, investors tend to make less money this way.In other words, partnering with a contractor is most often a lose/lose situation for an investor.

If you are purchasing a Buy and Hold property, with lending, you must first buy the property in you name and then transfer the title(Quit Claim Deed) into an LLC.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the agency who regulates FHA loans.The HUD investigator discovered the property was transferred to a new buyer, but the buyer’s funds were not used to pay off the FHA loan.