“Do not put all your eggs in one basket.” Warren Buffet

When I purchased my first property, in 1978, I put it in my name, as an individual. I sold that property (it was a duplex) a year later at a good profit and had no problems. Since it was an All Inclusive Trust Deed (AITD) the payments were made to the seller and former owner. Since that time, I have used several other means of taking title.

GET A GOOD ATTORNEY. This is very important. I am not an attorney or an accountant. I am a Real Estate Broker only and I cannot give legal advice. I would say, as important as this choice can be, you should find as good Real Estate attorney. Your can ask friends, call the Bar Association for referrals and even try the Apartment Owners Association.It is best to interview several attorneys and choose one that you feel has the competence and experience to do a good job for you.

CHOICE OF ENTITIES. You could have your building in a trust, a family limited partnership, a corporation or a limited liability company (LLC) among others. Do your research along with your attorney to decide which is right for you.

LLC’S. The limited liability company has pros and cons. On the pro side, you can reduce personal liability, and you can keep your properties separate and protected from some lawsuits. For instance, if you had a major claim against one property, you could keep that judgement from attaching to your other properties or even your home or your business. If done correctly, using multiple LLC’s should work. On the negative side, there will be additional paperwork and a yearly fee for each LLC, not to mention setup fees.

DO YOUR PAPERWORK CORRECTLY. This is one of the many reasons you need to involve your Real Estate attorney and your CPA in this process. Even the best laid plans can go awry if you have not set up everything correctly. If your idea is to limit liability to each building you don’t want to create a false feeling that your other entities are safe from that major lawsuit, just to find out that your separate entities are being disallowed. If you do it right, with professionals, the first time, you will sleep better and if the time comes, you will be as well prepared as possible. There are no guarantees in life, but you can try your best to be compliant with current laws.

“Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” Vince Lombardi

What we at PRS PROPERTIES CAN DO. We can give you a good idea of the current value of your building. We can suggest changes you might want to make before sale to give you an idea what type of building you would be able to exchange into. You may decide to stay in the rental business. We are always available to chat. We can give you referrals for professionals, such as lenders, contractors, and engineers, so that you can decide who you feel best with. We can supply you with rent and sale comparables in the area of your properties, so that you know what rental values are in your area. It is important that you know the true value of your rental units, so that you can get them rented right away at market value, or at least as much as possible with rent control restrictions. We can look at potential purchases that you may be interested in to make the property more desirable, and maybe look at potential issues that an insurer might require you to repair.

If you should decide to sell your building, we can help you exchange into a larger or smaller properties. We can even help you move into something with less management responsibilities. We can also help with getting the paperwork together for a refinance if that is your desire. We can also recommend experienced licensed contractors who can perform any repairs or installations you may need prior to selling. We can also look at your building for other easy and inexpensive changes that might allow you to get a higher value. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.

We are currently looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase with low rents, deferred maintenance or even with a problem tenant in place. We can offer a 7 day escrow and all cash at closing. Give us a call. We have also put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are currently in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45 day identification period runs out.

Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 40 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.