PO Box for LLC address.

[j1dias]

Good evening - I have a quick question. Do you use a PO Box in your rental business?

We are planning to open an LLC for our rental business. We don't want to disclose our address. We understand we can't file the Articles using a PO Box as our address. However we thought about opening a PO Box at our local UPS store - they offer PO Box with real street and number addresses. So instead of having to use a PO Box, we can write a real street name and number. No one would know it is a PO Box.

We thought about opening the PO Box and filling the paperwork with the State using their address. Am I missing anything here?

Our objective is to protect our home address.

Thank you and have a nice evening!

[propertymanager]

That is exactly what I do.  Use the PO Box number to receive your mail and the corresponding street address at the UPS store and NEVER give your home address to the tenants or anyone else connected with your business.   I would also strongly urge using a cell phone for your business and never giving your home phone number to tenants.

Mike

[Roger J]

Ditto on that.  You need to keep business and home separate.  I would also add that you may want to get an unlisted number for your home because tenants will use that to locate your house as well.

Raj

[Dave T]

We thought about opening the PO Box and filling the paperwork with the State using their address. Am I missing anything here?

When you register your LLC with the state, you need to give the state a physical address where you can be served process.  While a private mail box is good for your LLC's correspondence address, it is not sufficient for this purpose.

[BLL]

Another consideration is the location where business records are stored. Some states require this information as part of the filings and that is your home unless you have an office.

[yrush2000]

i have NV LLCs and need to use a resident agent there which recieves all my mail and forwards it to me.  They are the only one with my actually address.  The cost is $100 per year.

[j1dias]

All - thank you for the answers.

When you register your LLC with the state, you need to give the state a physical address where you can be served process.  While a private mail box is good for your LLC's correspondence address, it is not sufficient for this purpose.

Dave - the UPS store gives you a physical address for the PO Box. So no one will know the address I am providing is of a PO Box. It will look like 123 W Park St, Unit #1234, Phoenix, AZ, 85015. Can I still use this as my LLC's address. If someone showed up there to serve me, he would see it is a UPS store. Would this be a problem?

BLL - I don't think my state requires me to provide the physical address where the records are located. I just checked the Secretary of State website. It asks for the "known place of business in Arizona - if the address is the same as the street address of the statutory agent, than write "same as statutory agent". My understanding is that I can use the street address of my PO Box.

Mike - cell phone... we will use my wife's cell phone.

Raj - we will unlist our number. Thank you.

Yrush - Thank you for the information. We thought about using an agent here to protect our privacy but then figured that we were becoming a little bit paranoid... :O) Thank you for sharing the price you pay. If we ever need to use one, we will have it as a reference.

I hope you all have a nice day!

[justin0419]

j1dias,
You will have to put a "registered agent" on your Articles of Incorporation paperwork with the state you are registering to do business in.  This needs to be a REAL PERSON at a PHYSICAL ADDRESS.  The purpose of this agent is to have an actual person who can receive legal documents for your business.  Therefore the idea of listing the street address of the UPS store will not work.
In my case, we use my dad as our registered agent.  We also have my parents' physical address on file with the state as the location of doing business.  We use a PO Box to have our rent checks mailed to us and for all correspondence back and forth.  If you do not know anyone in the state you're intending to do business, you can pay the state or another entity to act as your registered agent.  Of course there are fees associated with this...sometimes high fees. 
We use our cell phones for our business.  It means we can always be available if we want to be (or we can shut them off).  Through a few steps, you can make it difficult for your tenants to find out where you live...that's a good thing.  As is always stated here, have plenty of insurance and you should be fine. 

[BLL]

The business address is where you actually conduct business. PO Box or registered agent addresses don't count unless that is the actual location where you store business records and/or conduct business.  If a process server goes to the UPS store and the clerk doesn't accept service, the LLC will be deemed invalid and ignored for limited liability purposes.

NV LLCs are only for business that takes place in NV. A NV LLC must register in the state where it actually conducts business and is subject to the rules of that state, including the disclosure requirements. There is no benefit to foreign organization unless you conduct business in multiple states.

[tatertot]

In my state, you must provide an address where you can be physically served. So some folks have an arrangement with their lawyer, where the lawyer's office is used as the address for the business.

[Equity]

If a process server goes to the UPS store and the clerk doesn't accept service, the LLC will be deemed invalid and ignored for limited liability purposes.

As a matter of policy, will a UPS store normally accept service?  Or, is this subject to the particular store policy or the whim of the counter clerk?

[BLL]

I don't know corporate policy, but I have a personal relationship with the franchisee of my local UPS store and he is more than happy to act as my registered agent.

[yrush2000]

The business address is where you actually conduct business. PO Box or registered agent addresses don't count unless that is the actual location where you store business records and/or conduct business.  If a process server goes to the UPS store and the clerk doesn't accept service, the LLC will be deemed invalid and ignored for limited liability purposes.

NV LLCs are only for business that takes place in NV. A NV LLC must register in the state where it actually conducts business and is subject to the rules of that state, including the disclosure requirements. There is no benefit to foreign organization unless you conduct business in multiple states.

I do not conduct business in NV and in fact some of my NV LLCs are not even registered on the Fl website but still operate and pay taxes.  Florida has no state tax so I think i am not required to file it or the state just does not care to much since 2 of my LLC are over 5 yrs old and never registered but little activity in them

[BLL]

If they aren't registered in FL, then it's the same thing as if they don't exist. They can't sue and any lawsuit against them will turn into a lawsuit against you personally.

[j1dias]

All - thank you so much for all the advice and insight. Over the past few days I was really trying to figure out the best approach for us. I want the privacy so I don't want to use my home address. And I don't want to have to pay for someone to be the registered agent only so he/she can receive documents in my name. I went back and forth on this one and I was almost sold in using my home address and forget the privacy...

Then out of the blue my wife remembered that I am activating my real estate license on July 1st. This means I will have an office - basically my broker's office... :O) I can use that address and keep my privacy... :O)

I am so happy that this is finally solved... :O)

One last question - would the correspondence from the State or from the court come in the name of my company or in my name? If in the name of the company, I would probably need to give my broker the heads up...

Thank you again for all your help. Have a nice evening!