Am going through the legalities of setting up a structure for my investments, what is an EIN number?
It is a federal tax id number issued to you by the IRS, you must have one if you are running a company. Most banks also require one in order to open a business account. Hope this helps you. 
OK, thanks Bettysue, I will follow up on getting one of these as with my ITIN # which is the equivalent of a SSN#.
I am also looking at various LLC set ups, is it more advantageous to purchase an existing LLC in order to have a higher standing with lenders? ie; easier to borrow money since I personally have no credit rating.
Thanks Bettysue
And thankyou to any who can answer the latter question.
regards
Moz 8)
here is an idea but someone like reoconsulatant can probably answer the question…what if you set up a D.B.A for your self the cost in Galveston county TX is like $22…mean while you can do business with your business name…Look for partners to set up an LLC with each of you putting up say 5k into the business 4 partners *5=20k this giving your LLC some cash value beforew you use it to buy anything…or you could just use you DBA for the begining and transfer over to the LLC…just an idea but not sure if it would work remamber we have to think outside the box to be creative…not just creative financing but creative all the time in our lives… good luk
Rick
Bettysue,
Actually, an EIN is not required for all business entities. For example, a sole proprietorship and an LLC treated as a disregarded entity are not required to have an EIN since the entity does not file a tax return in its own right.
However, there is an exception to the above. If the entity has employees, the entity must have an EIN to report payroll taxes.