Okay for an accountant to prepare LLC for new business in real estate investing or should I use attorney specialized in RE? I see a lot of people using online sources for forming an LLC. Although we may save costs, how difficult are these to understand and fill out on your own. What are the benefits of going with accountant, and/or attorney?
attorneys charge by the hour, plus expenses. They like to use lots of words and make you think that they are thinking up shit when really all they are doing is filling out forms. Neither attorneys or online services can advise you on tax matters or just how to do stuff. And if they do, they’re going to charge you (by the hour, plus expenses) for it.
I charge $200.
Or, its easy to do on your own.
you do the math.
Thanks for prompt response. Will discuss with partner.
The thing with doing one on your own is that after you get it there are certain criteria that you need to follow. There are management agreements and tax numbers and so on. If you just apply for one and have never done it before you will be lost.
I formed an LLC online and called a local lawyer because I wasn’t sure what to do next and he said “call an LLC lawyer” he wasn’t sure what to do. I try very hard not to use them.
I am going to call a CPA associated with my local REIA and have them set me straight. That’s what I should of done to begin with. Live and learn.
Thanks, I have set up appt with CPA. I’m sure I would have many questions and need someone to walk me through the process. Have decided against online.
I went to the county’s website that I formed my LLC in (Nevada). Every state has a county website!!! I downloaded their form to form an LLC (FREE). Performed a name search on their website for my company name (FREE) and filled the form out.
Located a Registered Agent for six months which is $49.00. The registered agent forward all of my mail and notices to my home address here in Illinois.
What I also did was go to an incorporation website and fill out their form step by step along side my form and realized that all they do is copy each state’s forms onto their website. The form takes 5 minutes to fill out literally.
To file in Nevada is $75.00. There’s an additional fee due after the LLC formation but they will send you a notice to your Registered agent if you are out of state.
$125.00 Total. After this I consulted with an LLC attorney in the state that I formed my corporation.
This was easier for me. I didn’t want to be in the dark about how things were done. I researched, read the forums, listened to a few attorneys that wanted to charge me $300.00 to do the same things that cost me less. It was worth it to me because I did it from beginning to end. I never want to be in the dark about my dealings in this business. Nor do I want anyone trying to cloud my judgement, i.e. you really shouldn’t do this on your own, there’s so much you dont understand, oh, I can do all of this for $499.00…yada yada yada.
I really think that the people fishing for business should stop trying to scare people into thinking that they aren’t capable of doing this their own. The forums are for teaching and support. Don’t let someone cripple you. You need to know the ends and out of this business which includes YOUR taxes. Now I wouldn’t suggest you file your own taxes but make sure you go line by line with your tax attorney. The attorney will more than likely fill the form out for you and will not take you line by line on how to fill it out. You need to know this. He’s probably going to do everything, explain a few things to you and that’s it. I’m all for people making money but not at the expense of crippling an individual.
Let’s be fair here. I know that people will not take my route but it’s important for me to research and weigh my options before I let someone scare me into working with them.
Knowledge is Power!!!
Toska
My 2 cents!
Chicago, IL
It sounds like you did a lot on your own and you also used an “expert” to ensure that your were on the right track. Very smart.
be sure you get a management agreement and properly fund the LLC. those are important steps in having a valid entity.
voluminous,
i read your post. are you saying that you started your llc by yourself? if so how long did it take? days? weeks? etc?
mcwagner,
what do you mean by properly fund the entity and how do you do that? by getting loans, etc? what happens if an entity is not properly funded?
funding an entity (or capitalizing is another word) is one of those “legal” things that indicate that it’s a real business. corporations sell actual pieces of paper called stock, and LLC’s get funded.
You personally write a $100 check to the LLC, the LLC deposits it and records it as a “capital contribution”. sounds small, but it has a big meaning (to lawyers anyway).
McW,
Regarding the managment agreement. How is that done?
Do you use a ledger book and what do you enter into it?
a management agreement is an agreement between the LLC and the managers. it outlines duties, responsibilities, compensation, authority, etc. as well as basics of how the company is to be run from day to day.
an LLC must have managers, and like funding, having a management agreement in place is an indicator to others (think opposing attorneys) that it is a valid, functioning, independent business entity.
Personally, I use quickbooks.
So it can be kept on a computer. Does quickbooks have a format to walk newbies through a management agreement? Your a big help.
MCWAGNER,
I MUST ADMIT THAT YOU ARE INDEED VERY MUCH APPRECIATED BY ME. I THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP.
I miscommunicated. quickbooks takes the place of a ledger book (old school) for recording financial transactions.
the management agreement you have to pay for.