Posted by Tony-VA on March 06, 2000 at 15:20:34:
What comments are you talking about …what are you laughing out loud about? This post seemed to be a straight response with little personal comment on anything. Did you have a point to make or just posting to waste time?
first lonnie deal… - Posted by robert (mi)
Posted by robert (mi) on March 04, 2000 at 17:25:22:
i’m getting ready to do my first deal in mich.
i need to know what is the best way to put my name on the title when i hold the note or if i need to? what is the best way to go about this?
do i just put the buyers name on or or mine?
please help 
robert
Re: first lonnie deal… - Posted by Tony-VA
Posted by Tony-VA on March 05, 2000 at 01:02:28:
I title the home in the buyer with me (my company) as the lienholder on the title and I retain the title until the lien is paid off. Same way banks deal with car loans and car titles.
Tony-VA
Re: first lonnie deal… - Posted by robert (mi)
Posted by robert (mi) on March 05, 2000 at 11:03:03:
tony ,
did you start a company? i have lonnies books and he recommens against this. saying to transfer title as soon as its sold, but he also talks about having a license and then goes on to say it’s ok to do it without one??
first i like to try just one to get my feet wet. i made a few call on getting a license ohh boy!!
place of buisness and it can’t be your home.
fees,fees,fees
how did you do your first ones?
i need to get this going i can’t wait!!
Re: first lonnie deal… - Posted by Dave_in_IN
Posted by Dave_in_IN on March 05, 2000 at 10:26:43:
Tony_VA, Is your company a d.b.a.? If so is there any problem with the bmv using a d.b.a? Thanks.
Red Tape and the Cost of Doing Business (Long) - Posted by Tony-VA
Posted by Tony-VA on March 06, 2000 at 10:43:35:
Yes, I did start a corporation to do these lonnie deals. I don’t recall Lonnie ever saying not to start a company to do these, but I guess I could
be wrong. Lonnie himself does these through a corporation. Lonnie does not dispense legal advice so I would be surprised if he made a emphatic statement either way.
Asset protection is a part of business. Most any good legal advice will tell you to separate your personal assets from you business assets. This helps prevent people from suing your business, and winning your personal assets as well. I highly recommend you read some of Bill Bronchick’s info at this site. Click on the “Legal Forum” in the upper left corner of the
creonline home page.
As for licensing. It can be expensive but licensing is a part of doing business. If you want to be considered professional, you need to be licensed as one, in my opinion. This same feeling applies with using a company. The company provides you with a formal legal entity that lends credibility to your business.
For me in VA, the licensing fee is expensive as well but I would hazard a guess that the savings in sales tax alone would pay for the licensing in even a moderate volumn of sales.
For example. Here the start up costs were about $300 in license fees. Some states require a bond of say $20,000. This I have been told costs about $500. In VA, they simply charge us $500 the first year and put that money into a pool to act the same as a bond.
So roughly $800 the first year, $200 or so each year thereafter I believe, maybe $300. But by being a licensed “Broker”, we don’t pay sales tax on the homes we buy and simply transfer title directly and legally to out buyer who pays sales tax on what we sell to them for.
VA did not specifically say that I could have a home office either. They seem to believe that our sales would be treated as a dealership and that I am going to have homes parked out in my front yard.
I went through the back door to comply with all their requirements. I simply asked them to send me a copy of their definition of an “Office” and what space requirements they had. They humbly advised “Well we don’t really
have a definition of an office, I guess you would have to have your local (County) zoning approve your office space.” So off I went to zoning. I inquired about the zoning in my area for home offices. I then tailored my application to there definitions. I described
my sales business…phone, fax, computer, no buyers coming to the “office” and no inventory or parts stored openly in the yard etc. The county issued
me a home office permit for about $10.
The licensing agency wanted a photo of the business sign permanently attached to the property. I bought a nice $20 metal sign with my company name printed on it. I bolted it to my garage and took a photo.
I made up a nice 3 ring binder for my application. I broke down the application in sections. I individually addressed each requirment the licensing agency wanted, using a copy of the “home office” permit, a copy of my companies “Articles of Incorporation”, the photos of the required sign
etc. The agency also wanted profit and loss type paperwork and financial statements. I wrote that my company had just been formed, referenced the Articles of Incorporation date, and supplied copies of the business bank statements.
I sent this package directly to the person I spoke with at the agency. I included the check for the entire amount of all fees, writen on a company
check. The license was quicklyl approved.
It all boils down to making it impossible for them to say NO. Make it a no brainer for them to say YES. They just want the money and have you jump through hoops. I just jumped through the hoops using my own approach. Nothing I did was in violation of their rules. Rules are for interpetation. I interpetted them and provided legal evidence of my compliance with them.
Don’t be afraid of the red tape. Think creatively.
And to answer your question, at first I did these deals by myself without a license as my state allows you to do 2 deals without a license within a 12
month period. Check out your state and do a couple on your own if they permit to be sure that this investing is for you before you spend a lot of money on licensing.
Best Wishes,
Tony-VA
Doing Business - Posted by Tony-VA
Posted by Tony-VA on March 06, 2000 at 10:50:57:
My company is a corporation. Lonnie also uses a corporation to do his deals.
A DBA simply means Doing Business As…This could be Tony-VA Doing Business As…Tony-VA Mobile Home Sales… I would still be a sole proprietorship which means that all my personal assets would be liable for any civil damages assessed to this business. Not that Lonnie deals create a lot of liability, but why risk your own assets if you don’t have to?.
I formed a corporation to destinguish between my personal assets and my business assets. Asset protection is an important key to business, especially in the sue happy society we live in today. There are also different tax strategies that can be applied using Corps. and different entities. I am still learning some of these and am not by any means
qualified to dispense legal or tax advice, so keep in mind that you need to verify all that you read from me and others that post here when it comes to these areas.
So DBA really means nothing. It simply changes the name you use in your business transactions. If you get a chance, read some of Bill Bronchicks info on the “Legal Forum” section in the upper left corner of the home page.
As for the DMV, there is no problem tranfering title as a company. In fact, I think it easier because the DMV is used to dealing with dealer issues. They are not very adept at Mobile Homes for some reason, but transfering title is very similar to transfering title on a car (at least here in VA).
Best Wishes,
Tony-VA
Man, red tape is sure fun! - Posted by Jacob
Posted by Jacob on March 06, 2000 at 12:32:24:
Being that Indiana is the birthplace of many of the mh’s bought and sold across the country, we have some special laws to take care of our babies.
Here, a mh dealer is an auto dealer. No difference, no seperation. And, unlike many states, to get an auto dealer’s licence requires an actual lot. They define the actual space required and such.
However, there is a pretty easy way around the dealer license problem. Here, each entity can do 12 license transfers annualy. Plus, there is no sales tax on any unit older than 10 years. That makes it very easy to trasnfer titles here without interference.
Jacob
I was offended by your comments…I think I will sue!!!..lol (nt) - Posted by tang-0-rang(CO)
Posted by tang-0-rang(CO) on March 06, 2000 at 11:45:46:
nt