incorporating your business

[Kittik]

We currently have 5 deals that could turn into lease options.....as far as how we need to handle these, my questions are:

Is is neccessary to incorporate our business before we actually sign the papers for the lease?

Is this something that can take place before the twelve month leases are up....or does it have to happen first?

We also have one house that is a flip, and we have a hard money lender, but is it needed for us to be Inc. before that deal goes through?

[Bud Branstetter]

Do not let the lack of a entity stop you from doing a deal.   The question should be are these really deals?  You ask about incorporating.  That qustions should be a function of your goals.  If you are going to L/O them out for several years then a family limited partnership may be better.  If you are doing things short term a C corp or LLC may be best.   More information is reuired to properly advise anyone.

[John Hyre]

Bud is right.  The deals are more important than the entity.  No entity will turn a frog deal into a prince.  Using entities is wise both for asset protection and tax purposes - but you need to know WHICH entity is right for you.  I would be very wary of "one size fits all" advice....choice of entity, like many legal issues, is only properly done by taking ALL of your financial details into consideration.  I would be especially careful when using a C-Corporation - they have ALOT of traps for the unwary.  When doing L/O's, the structure of the deals & liklihood of exercise on the options are important factors.  By all means, use an entity.  But make sure that it is the right one AND that it will pay for itself first.  I believe Tim has an article here that I write on the subject with more info.

John Hyre