It’s funny how people will buy a fancy new car or a big new home and invest a bunch of money into a security system. Yet so many real estate investors don’t put any thought or money into creating a security system around the equity and cash flow building up in their investment properties. And if something goes wrong, not only are the rental properties at risk, but so is the fancy new car, big new home and every other of their prized possessions!
Since this is the time of year most investors are neck deep in reviewing their finances and preparing their tax returns, we thought it would be a great time to get an update on the wonderful world of asset protection.
Sitting down at the microphones for this edifying episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show:
- The bodyguard of broadcasting, your host Robert Helms
- The body odor of broadcasting, co-host Russell Gray
- A man with a large body of work on the topic of asset protection, attorney Garrett Sutton
The United States is the lawsuit capital of the world. And even though our show is now downloaded in over 160 countries, many folks throughout the world are coming to the USA to pick up bargain real estate (and who can blame them?). Plus, many of the essential concepts of asset protection are applicable in jurisdictions around the world. So no matter where you’re from, there’s something for everyone in this episode!
The basic concept of asset protection is the utilization of entities to create legal separation between assets. These entities can also be useful for privacy, tax and estate planning purposes. And the bigger your collection of properties becomes, the bigger a target you become for financial predators of all types. The sooner you get your asset protection structure built, the faster you can move when adding properties to your portfolio.
If you’re unfamiliar with the basic concepts, we recommend you do some reading before you sit down with an attorney. No point in paying out hundreds of dollars per hour for a basic education. However, with that said, once you’re ready to actually implement a plan we STRONGLY suggest you engage a competent attorney to actually help create the plan and form the entities. There are lots of “fill in the forms” do-it-yourself websites for this type of thing, but they don’t come with professional advice and errors and omissions insurance. If an asset protection plan makes sense for you, then it makes sense to do it right. At least that’s our not so humble opinion.
We’d love to share more, but we’re guessing you’d rather hear from the real expert, so listen in to our conversation with Garrett Sutton. Then jump into The Real Estate Guys™ Recommended Reading bookstore and pick up some books on the topic, including Garrett’s recently updated Start Your Own Corporation. Before you know it, you’ll be proudly pontificating on asset protection principles – and you’ll be the life of the party!
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The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources that help real estate investors succeed.
