Forming Your Real Estate Investing Business – Part 4

Filing Your Paperwork With Your State… How and Where…

Each business entity requires specific forms, fees, and filings before your business is a legal entity. If you choose to register your business yourself you will need to know exactly what the states you do business in require and how to file correctly. If you choose to have a professional firm register your business for you (recommended) it will all be taken care of for you.

If you’re one of the ones who finds it hard to spend a couple hundred bucks to have a professional firm register your business for you, you should first get a hold of your Secretary of State and Business Revenue offices. Once you have decided which business entity type you wish to use (with the help of someone experienced or a tax professional) give the office a call and ask them to steer you in the right direction. Ask them for contact information for the offices and agencies that you will need to contact.

If you are filing an LLC, in most states it is rather simple. You fill out the paperwork, fax it in with your payment and that is it. However, each state is different and you should do your homework before just sending everything in. To save you a bit of time we have compiled a list of links to each Secretary of State web site in the country and placed them on this page. Scroll down to your state and go to the web site to find out exactly what you need to do.

Before you do that… I want to drill it into you how important it is that you register your business correctly. If you are using an LLC and you are the only owner, it is very simple to do. However, if you are using a corporation or some type of partnership I would advise you to seek the help of a professional. I assure you, it will be well worth the couple hundred bucks it costs you to do it right. Also, these companies register businesses for a living. Do you want your businesses safety (your personal safety and well being too) and well being to be at risk because you couldn’t buck up a couple hundred bucks? If you are at all unsure about anything involved in the registration and filing process, PAY TO HAVE SOMEONE DO IT FOR YOU!!. We recommend several companies that do an excellent job. Check them out.

• Bizfilings.com – Excellent company with solid track record.

Here is the Secretary of State list:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Don’t let any of this scare you! It does look like a complicated process, but it is really rather simple when you have the right people to help you. If you aren’t comfortable registering and filing your business yourself, seek out a professional to help you. What is worse…

Bucking up and paying someone a few hundred dollars today and having your business registered and ready this week?

or

Saying “I’m not going to pay someone to do this for me. I’ll figure it out myself” and eventually giving up and not even starting your business at all?

You better say the latter. Whichever you choose, JUST GET IT DONE. Without a business you only have a hobby. If you only have a hobby, you are leaving A TON OF MONEY on the table.