Is there any effect way or ways to protect your ownership of your properties ahead of time, so NO ONE nor any government can take away your properties?

I understand this society anything can happen, there are plenty unfair legal matters happened in this society. Just because we do not know the law, even the evil legal professional will take your property away.

Can you give me any recommendations how to protect our assets? I plan to have a LLC to list my property in it. Especially, I plan to acquire another one soon (thru a private sale, and a big promissory note.)

Yes, I did already talk with a couple legal professionals, other than charge $250 to $400 an hour, and wanted to have a big retainer at the beginning, I have not heard anything from them that I did not know. I am not sure to spend $2500 for a LLC will really protect my ownership of the property (s).

Thanks.

>>>>>where to begin I suggest hiring an eviction service to handle this unauthorized animal problem before a relative of your tenant sues you and takes away the house they live in plus the one you live in.>>>>>>>

>>>>>

How can it be? In what ground and what agency of the government can do that? to take my rental and my own residence? I never heard of such a thing. Any cases you know of? Why a relative of the tenant can make such a pursuit?? It sure does not matter any sense to me. Would like to know the examples.

>>>>>

You own one property Alice?

Honestly I would just get an umbrella liability insurance policy of at least 1 million.

LLCs have plenty of cons, and not many pros. "Asset protection" gurus will try to sell you all kinds of complicated things you don't need. And if you do decide to do it I certainly wouldn't spend $2500 to set up an LLC! You can DIY for much less than that. It's not hard.

An LLC in TX costs about $325, one-time. You also have to file two pieces of paper every year by May 15.

I have my LLCs partly to protect them from each other, but mostly to protect them from some future disgruntled client of my husband's.

I don't think there's any way to protect your assets from the government, apart from keeping your nose clean. I bought five houses this year from people who had their houses seized for failure to pay taxes. :) (Two of them were redeemed...)

Alice I think Vee was being a bit tongue in cheek with his response.

You're more likely to end up with the cost of an eviction and possibly a damaged unit. You're not going to lose the house because of this tenant.

But if you decide to stay in the rental business learn how to screen better so you don't end with more of these duds in the future.

I might recommend "SO SUE ME" by Arnold Golstien.

Check out reviews on Amazon,..

The real way to protect your assets is to reduce your liability by complying with local laws and providing safe housing. If you are willfully negligent an insurance policy will not protect you and an LLC can still mean losing $100k+.

The limits of your liability and your assets are not the same. You could have $100k in equity in a home and be responsible for a million in damages like if you failed to maintain the stairs and a tenant was badly injured. With a properly executed LLC you would only lose the $100k that is in that LLC. But with a million dollar insurance policy the insurance company will cover the legal costs for your defense and pay up to a million dollars if you are liable. If you are in a situation where you have a lot of potential damages like you are personally responsible for a car accident where someone is injured for life, an LLC is only worthwhile if you are very careful with how you maintain your property. If you are commingling assets the veil of the LLC can be pierced. In some places having an LLC means you have to have a lawyer handle evictions.

Do you have a mortgage on the property? Do you pay the mortgage or any of the other expenses using funds that originate outside the LLC?

Just get a big insurance umbrella so they'll go after that instead.

There's a pattern in asset protection, the more protected you are, the less control you have and the more cost and work to achieve. There comes a point in time where it's not worth it. I'm more worried about loss of control than I am about lawsuits. Just put your portfolio in an LLC, have a whopper of an umbrella policy, obey the laws for habitation, make repairs quickly and thoroughly, and treat tenants fairly. That's the easiest and most cost effective way to protect yourself.

...other than charge $250 to $400 an hour, and wanted to have a big retainer at the beginning, I have not heard anything from them that I did not know...

Charlie, while you may be right--it was rude and totally unnecessary to say it like that.

Alice, there are many ways to say something in English that only those who have spoken it from birth, and/or know a lot of American expressions, will be able to understand. Also on this forum things are often said with sarcasm or irony that mean different from the actual words. I am sure there are many phrases in your native language that WE wouldn't understand either. Don't worry about it. NO ONE can 'take away' your property, but you may have to sell it to pay liability damages if you don't have enough insurance.

My properties were bought 10-15 year ago in TX by using a Land Trust. At that time the procedure was to pick a name of the land trust (usually from the address eg: Garden Road Land Trust, 4th Street Land Trust) and buy the property using that name as the OWNER. All the documentation has the LT name as the owner. Then the I/you/whoever is doing it-- becomes the 'beneficury' of the LT and can only be called the manager. Which is true because you DO manage the property. I hear now from several sources that TX no longer allows this (?) not sure it is correct, but that's what I was told.

Alice,

Relax.

Do not try do-it-yourself law.

An LLC takes special effort and skills, and is not for beginners.

Bump up your insurance

AND

Get to Jeffrey's Boot Camp the learn how to handle yourself and your business in a way that keeps you away from trouble.

Education is cheaper than attys.