Tag Archives: ny

Before You File Your Corporation or Limited Liability Company (LLC): 5 Things to Consider!

POINT # 1: Many investors believe that they can create a limited liability company (LLC) or file a corporate charter with the state and always have liability protection. This is SIMPLY NOT TRUE. The truth is that each of these business entities (the LLC, the corporation and even the limited partnership) require certain key steps after the structure is created. I always like to compare business entities to a fancy Italian sports car or a new baby…they WILL DEMAND PROPER CARE AND FEEDING!

They are fun on the first day, but you had better know how to maintain Continue reading

Understanding Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s) and Limited Partnerships

The best way to understand a corporation, limited liability company (or even a limited partnership) is to realize that each creates a special legal relationship or privilege between the business owner(s) and the government. These areas of government include:

1. State Government (including state taxing authorities and the state court system)
2. The Federal Government (specifically the IRS and the Bankruptcy court system)

You may be saying, alright Darius, I still don’t understand what you mean by a relationship or privilege. The best way that I can put it is this:

A business entity is a legal relationship which allows for certain privileges. Continue reading

Real Estate Investing Mistake #1: Farm Area

When I first got started in real estate investing, I was the poster child for mistakes! The one thing I did PROPERLY was that I took action. And success favors the people that take action.

The key is to keep moving and not dwell on each individual real estate investing mistake that you make, especially early on! Just keep on going… and take a few minutes to figure out what the lesson was, add it to your knowledge and experience bank, and move on to the next!

In this article series, I’ve highlighted 17 real estate investing mistakes that I made early on and share with you what you can do to avoid making the same real estate investing mistakes I made…

The first mistake new real estate investors make is always thinking the grass is greener on the other side! That “another” market will have better deals, more motivated sellers, and more qualified buyers. Once your business is established with duplicatable systems in place, it can be easy to expand into additional markets. But in the beginning, stick with your targeted farm area. Continue reading

Real Estate Investing Mistake #7: Not Having Joint Venture Agreements In Place

Real estate investing is exciting when you’re just getting started. Real estate is all you can think about and all you can talk about. Your enthusiasm rubs off on others and you instantly start attracting people that want to lend money on for deals, partner with you on properties, joint venture with you on aspects of your business, etc.

The problem is that when you’re so excited, it’s hard to imagine anything EVER going wrong. Why would you need anything more than a handshake and verbal agreement?

Sure, you may be laughing as you read this, but you’ll see… when it comes time to putting a joint venture together, you’ll be eager to get moving along and you just might make this critical real estate investing mistake… and it COULD wind up costing you tens of thousands of dollars, friendships, and worse. Continue reading

7 Steps to Getting Started In Real Estate

There are only 7 steps you need to master to be successful in real estate. If you fail to master any single step, you’re building your real estate business on a weak foundation. Wouldn’t you rather build your home on a rock-solid, unbreakable foundation?

Step #1: How To Set Your Business Up And Build Your Team

I defer to Napoleon Hill! If you look at people that have been successful in the past, a common thread is the people they are surrounded with. You need to build your team with the RIGHT people.

Remember, you get what you pay for! (To give you an idea Continue reading

Real Estate Video to Find Buyers

Real estate video is becoming more and more popular whether you’re talking about property videos or talking head videos to establish trust and credibility.

Now, we’re not talking about the Virtual Tours Realtors® were using in the late 90s and early 2000s. What I’m referring to here is creating real estate videos and posting them to sites like YouTube.com and Vimeo, among others.

With the increasing popularity of these types of sites, it’s impossible to deny the power of video, especially given research that shows between 84%-93% of all buyers start their search online! And of those, you increase your chances of buyers looking at YOUR property when you have a virtual tour, video or slide show. Continue reading

Don’t Make These Mistakes With Your LLC or Corporation

A business entity can provide personal liability protection for its owners. The problem is that many people start business without proper instruction on how to run and manage agreements between parties, agreements with customers, internal paperwork, cash controls, voting rules, state and Federal reporting requirements and a host of other issues.

In fact, we have found between 20 to 25 actions, behaviors, or neglected tasks which commonly cause a business structure to be forfeited and can result in personal liability for the owner or owners.

Here are 5 of them:

#1. USING THE BUSINESS FOR FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES: YOU CANNOT, SHOULD NOT, AND SHALL NOT USE YOUR BUSINESS TO CHEAT OR DEFRAUD: For example, John Smith gathers money from investors claiming that he will develop a new product for his company. Continue reading

Flipping Houses: How to Find Buyers

When you’re flipping houses (aka wholesaling), aside from finding a motivated seller with equity, the most important piece of the puzzle is the ability to find buyers. Here’s a strategy that will show you how to sell a fixer upper (that you currently have under contract) THIS weekend!

This will work if you’ve got a property under contract that you need to wholesale OR if you’ve got a fixer upper you’ve already closed on and you simply need to find a buyer fast. In either case, we’re going to assume that you’ve got to find a buyer, and you’ve got to find a buyer FAST!

One of the most successful ways to flip a house is to hold an “event”. This type of event is going to be a little different Continue reading

Free Property Websites

There’s no doubt that to be successful in real estate you need a website, a property website, in particular if you’re looking to sell a deal. Property Websites are popping up all over the Internet and for good reason: They are an effective way to get people to view your properties as well as interact with potential buyers all over the world.

There are lots of companies and services that are selling websites for individual properties. You basically go and buy a domain name (i.e. 1234MainSt.com) and they allow you to use one of their templates and host the site for you.

Although this isn’t a “terrible” solution for a property website, it’s not the best alternative. You can get a property website that is more effective, better optimized, and less expensive. Continue reading

Wholesale Heat Wave After the Coldest Winter?

Not sure if you have noticed but slowly and surely real estate markets across the country are picking themselves up from off the mat and starting to fight another round.

Admittedly, “heat wave” may be a little strong for the market as a whole but not for the investor markets. You see, investors have always played vital roles in all real estate markets and the “investor market” within the larger market will always be the first sign of where the train is really headed.

As for one of the tools helping to fuel this market, wholesaling properties is playing a critical role on the market resurgence and hopefully you’ve added this strategy to your business as it has several key advantages that are worth cashing in on. Continue reading