The other day I saw one of those so called “cutsey” commercials where the narrator talked about the dread of the “Monday morning blues” and 5 more days till the weekend. 

I hate those commercials as it always seemed to me that some ad agency is implying that the majority of the American people hate their jobs. 

To me that is such a sad state of affairs, to spend a good part of your life doing something you hate. I always spoke to my kids when they were young about what were their interests and  what do they really have a passion for. And then the conversation would be, how and what they needed to do to be able to do to end up doing what they love. Hopefully most Americans at the very least like their jobs. 

I sincerely hope you like what you do, as well as like the people you work with. After all a good part of your life is spent working so you might as well enjoy it.

But if you are one of those 5/7ths people, who live for the weekend, and yearn for something better, something you enjoy and can start doing part time, real estate investing may be for you. 

There is no business quite like real estate investing. Yo
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In our last article we explained how the LLC can offer great protection for your personal and real estate assets as well as provide some great additional benefits. In this article, I’m going to discuss what you need to get that protection! Here we are talking about the LLC to protect your rental properties!

NOTE: This is a different LLC than you’d use for your flipping, wholesaling and other real estate investing areas! That we’ll discuss in two weeks!

This LLC should be formed correctly, meaning you need to choose the best way to set it up when it’s first created! An attorney can help with those decisions. Then, you need all the critical documents. The most important of which is the “operating agreement.” This is the “constitution” of the LLC and where you get the protection. Without an operating agreement, all you have is a name and no protection. Only an attorney can create this document!

Further, the operating agreement should be prepared by an attorney with asset protection experience. This is not just another business entity. There needs to be a number of clauses in the agreement that provide the specific protections we mentioned in the previous article. This is where the real value of a good attorney comes in. It will be worth it!

Luckily, we also live in Utah where we also have what is called a “Series” LLC. This is a very sp
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In our last article we warned against going too big too soon with asset protection structures. In this article I’m going to simplify the two kinds of liability that you face as real estate investors and how to protect yourself from them.

The first liability is risk you have while running a business. This is called professional liability. The classic example is a “slip and fall” in a rental or flip project that you own. If that happens, the plaintiff will sue the “owner” of the property. If that’s you, you will get sued and all your personal assets (house, savings, cars, jewelry, etc.) can be lost in that lawsuit if the damages exceed your insurance coverage. However, if you own that property in a limited liability company (or LLC), then the LLC will get sued and your personal assets will be protected!

The second liability is a risk you have just be being alive. This is call personal liability. The best example for this is a car accident you cause while driving. Because you actually caused the damage, you are getting sued, and that means your personal assets are at risk, including your real estate holdings! However, if you have the right kind of LLC set up, you can protect your properties from that lawsuit!

So, the right kind of LLC offers two different kinds of protection from two different liabilities!

There are additional benefits
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"Action is the fundamental key to all success." - Pablo Picasso

Many different types of businesses suffer from the problem of accumulated "past due" receivables.

And it's a problem which shouldn't *just* be addressed by "normal means" (calling, pestering, etc.).

The good news is that you don't have to accept the normal status quo -- you can actually change the way the game normally works. How? Well, I suggest that you use tactics similar to those which WON you the sale in the first place: discounts, premiums for advance or prompt payments, and good old multi-step follow-up.

If you do have (or ever develop) a receivables problem, you'll need to take this same sort of aggressive action to clean it up. "Preserving the relationship" with a client who can't (or won't, more likely) pay his bills is of little value.  And, left alone, collection problems tend to get worse, not better.

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Asset protection is always in the background of real estate investing. But it should never be far from sight!

We work hard every day to build wealth through real estate, and that can be substantial and fund our retirement. The last thing we want is to lose what we’ve worked so hard to create. That’s where asset protection comes in.

Protecting assets can be very simple to highly complicated. I get asked all the time about complex trusts and layered structuring to out-of-state LLCs. After being the asset protection business for over 20 years, my opinion hasn’t changed. Start basic and then let your protection grow as your assets grow.

There are lawyers who will “sell” you a big, expensive package of “bullet-proof” asset protection structures. When I went to my first Rich Dad, Poor Dad event, there was a lawyer on stage with a silver briefcase that had the full asset protection entities and documents. This cost $5000! And all it included were fill-in-the-blank forms to create LLCs, Family Limited Partnership, S-Corp and a few other documents. You still had to fill out the forms correctly and file them with the state and pay the fees. I had a client purchase the set of documents and was instantly disappointed in herself when she found out I could do everything for her for half the price.

"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." - Franklin D Roosevelt

If you measure your key metrics you can manage the performance of your business, AND you can see problems well in advance of when they might show up in revenue or profit figures.

Each and every business has key performance metrics [Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)], some of which are common to other businesses, some are industry-specific, and some companies create their own KPI's.

These sort of things are our bread and butter, when working with small businesses tax pro.

Do you need help?

Financial metrics are often common to all businesses. Some examples include:<
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 Today, Hosts John Wires and James Gregg get an update on the loan market for real estate investors from Kevin Roller and Alice Lund with Leader One Mortgage. Did you enjoy our PartnerCast? Be sure to give us a like and to make sure you don't miss a future PartnerCast, subscribe to our Channel.

 Today, Hosts John Wires and James Gregg talk tenant management and construction with Colin Douhit from Atlas Property Management and Construction. Find out what's happening in the current market when dealing with tenants in Episode 010 of the MAREI PartnerCast. Did you enjoy our PartnerCast? Be sure to give us a like and to make sure you don't miss a future PartnerCast, subscribe to our Channel.

 John Wires talks with Britton Asbell from Crossroads Investment Lending to find out how Hard Money Loans work at Crossroads, Current Lending Environment, and What's Happening in the Market in Episode 009 of the MAREI PartnerCast. Did you enjoy our PartnerCast? Be sure to give us a like and to make sure you don't miss a future PartnerCast, subscribe to our Channel.

 John Wires & Michael Pearse chat with Ryan Kernicky from PMI Destination Properties in Episode 008 of the MAREI PartnerCast. Managing Your Rental Properties and staying safe during Social Distancing and overall best practices. Did you enjoy our PartnerCast? Be sure to give us a like and to make sure you don't miss a future PartnerCast, subscribe to our Channel.