I found it’s very reasonable in my area to rent a small P.O. box to use as my business address.
My question is this - in my state, when you take title to property and it’s recorded in the land records office of whatever particular county you purchased in, one may look up on line the tax records. . … and it shows the owner’s info on it.
A few days ago I posted about buying in an LLC when you have a mortgage note and I don’t think that is feasible for me yet as the rate is higher and going to price me out of cash flow. . . BUT if tenants have any technology savvy, they know in my state they can go online and look up at the minimum where the owner of the property lives.
My question is this… does anyone out there know if you can take title with a mortgage and your address be a P.O. Box instead of a street address (i.e., your primary residence address) on all the legal paperwork?
The only time you need to disclose a physical address is for legal service and the location of business records (most states don’t require disclosure of the location of business records). If you are friendly with the owner of a UPS store or other type facility, he will act as your resident agent and you may keep your home address out of the public record.
But first off, I would keep ALL of your properties in an LLC (or several LLCs over time as you get a bunch of properties). That will automatically reduce your name in the public databases, though probably not completely eliminate it unless you’re in a state like Nevada. E.G. in Texas you won’t see the LLC owner’s name by going to the county appraisal district website, but you can get it by consulting with the secretary of state or digging through things such as recorded deeds; though no tenant will probably ever know how to do that). The “appraisal district website” is where the average Joe goes to get information on a property.
Also using a PO Box IS a great idea. In Texas most appraisal districts will gladly change the mailing address of any physical address to a PO Box after a deed is recorded. They don’t really care what your address is, as long as they have a good & valid address to send their property tax bills too.
Also never, ever give your tenant your physical address. Just give them your PO Box in the lease and all other documentation you provide them. The exception to that, of course, would be if you have a full-time office with a drop box where tenants can drop off rent — but it does not sound like that’s your case.
I also try to avoid putting my full name on documents I give the tenant, with exception to legal documents such as a lease where I sign my full name on behalf of the LLC that owns the rental property. However if they get a written warning from me, or even a 3-day pay or quit moveout notice, it actually comes directly from me signed as “John D.” instead of “John Doe” [note that’s not my real name, but used as an example here] “on behalf of XYZ Investments LLC”, followed by the PO Box, City, State & Zip. Also on eviction filings it is “XYZ Investments LLC vs The Tenant”…and my name is no where to be found. The less your tenant needs to see your first & last name, the better.
UPS and FED EX stores are physical addresses… And accept service… last time I checked UPS is 134.00 per year… Convenient because they’re also a notary. Use your AAA membership and receive 20% off.
Great point… About the same thing that will happen when our Government is over thrown…
I just got off the telephone with FedEx Customer service… I think they were rather pissed off when I asked them what would happen when the go out of business… The silence was priceless…
ha ha , that’s hysterical! Thanks for the advice. I was thinking a USPS p.o. box but if they can’t act as a registered agent I guess that isn’t the best route. Thanks for the AAA member tip - I’m a member but didn’t even think of that one! Even if you don’t put the title in an LLC, should I still set up an LLC for all other matters pertaining to the rental house?
Other things for privacy…
Refer to yourself as the property manager. If you refer to yourself as the owner, things can take on a whole different dynamic. There’s a difference between you being the guy over there fixing some things and you being the owner who determines what things get fixed and when. Also - always use the same vehicle for property visits. With very few exceptions (like my truck being in the shop from being rear-ended), our residents only see my truck and not our other cars.
We use a PO Box for our business and personal mail too. My dad is our Registered Agent in IL and our Realtor is it for MS.
You won’t get any benefit from the LLC if it doesn’t own the property. You will be listed as the owner of record and there will be no limited liability. One thing to remember with LLCs is that limited liability is for the members who don’t actively manage the LLC. If you manage the LLC yourself (deal with tenants, repair items, etc.), your personal actions that cause injury will allow a plaintiff’s attorney to side-step the LLC and go after you personally. An LLC can be a good choice for a newbie who works with a partner. Without the LLC, you can be liable for your partner’s bad acts. Otherwise, an LLC doesn’t do much good for anyone starting out. The time and money needed to do it right are better spent growing the business.
When the LLC is served, the post office will not accept service. That means you get no notice of the law suit and will end up with a default judgment because you don’t know you need to show up. Such an arrangement can be used as evidence of failure to follow corporate formalities and void the entity, meaning you are personally responsible for the judgment.
