Some suggest having one entity own assets (e.g. property) and have another entity be responsible for operating and maintaining the assets, so that if someone makes a mistake operating etc. there is some liability shield and the plaintiff cannot get the assets(again the idea of “piercing the veil” is important here).If you are really concerned about liability you should use the right entity (entities), but also make sure you have the correct relatively inexpensive insurance coverages (including but not limited to structure and liability on the properties, O&E on business, personal umbrella policies)The aforementioned is personal opinion and none of the content should be construed a binding offer or agreement.

When I mentioned that I would eventually move to rehabbing, he did go ahead and quote me for general liability based on rehabbing construction, as well as coverage for any possible accidents while showing a property.I am still in the process of creating an LLC through my attorney, and do plan to carry a decent policy once my agent figures out what to actually cover me for :D FWIW, I mentioned an umbrella policy to my agent since I have seen that tossed around here a bit, but he said umbrella policies are for individuals.

An umbrella policy for your company, your independent insurance person that works with property can help.FYI, in a sandwich, consider using a performance clause, like If the property is vacant and no rent is collected, then no rent is due.Best of luck to you!

We had the same dilemma and chose an umbrella policy on top of rental insurance - read about it here on bp so there are already some good forum discussions about this topic I think.

He mentioned that he had a friend that set up each rental property under a separate LLC (thru Deleware) and also had one LLC that acted as an umbrella to all the other LLC's.I originally thought it would be nice to have my name in the title of my LLC, an ego thing I guess but I have recently had a change of heart.

On top of that, I have a commercial liability policy and an umbrella on my personal side.

I'd be OK with a single LLC, good liability and property insurance, and an umbrella policy.

In this example, Sean might use Brennan REI, Inc. for his company, but if he wants to start a website wholesaling, he might want to use a catchy name, such as "houseforwholesale.com" under his umbrella company name, rather than just brennanrei.com.

The properties may or may not be held in LLC, but they will be paired with umbrella personal liability.

If you mean protection for general liability (tenants, visitors, slip & falls), just grab an umbrella policy (~250/yr for 1mil covering ~5 properties, about 100 for each increment mils), simplest thing you can do and beats the couple thousand in fees a professional will charge you.If you want or need to do tax sheltering strategies or optimize estate distributions etc, then definitely go for a qualified accountant or attorney.