by Mat Sorensen | Sep 11, 2020 | News
From my article on Realtor Magazine
Investors eyeing foreclosures and other residential properties to flip often connect with other investors looking for opportunities in the single-family rental market. Contract assignments are a common tool in these kinds of transactions because they enable investors to get a property under contract quickly and, rather than assume the risk that comes with turning it into a long-term investment, turn it over to an end buyer before closing in exchange for a fee. Read the article at Realtor Magazine here.
by Mat Sorensen | Mar 18, 2019 | News
The IRS recently announced that the State Department will be denying passports, and may revoke yours if you have a “seriously delinquent tax debt.” A seriously delinquent tax debt is where you owe more than $52,000 (including interest and penalties). While this law has been on the books for some time, the IRS recently started sending certifications of seriously delinquent taxpayers to the State Department last year.
If you owe the IRS money and have plans to travel abroad, there are a couple of options you can use to maintain or obtain a passport even through you may be a “seriously delinquent taxpayer.” Here are the most common options:
1. Installment Agreement
Enter into an installment agreement with the IRS to repay the debt (i.e. A payment plan). So long as you are current on your installment agreement, you can obtain or maintain your passport. An installment agreement is essentially and agreement whereby you agree to the debt owed and set-up a payment plan to have it paid back over time. The IRS usually requires financial disclosures in order to determine the payment amount and schedule. You can learn more here.
2. Offer in Compromise
Have a pending offer in compromise with the IRS, or be paying timely on an agreed upon offer in compromise. An offer in compromise is a method of negotiating a compromise on the amount owed to the IRS. The IRS only accepts an offer in compromise if there is a debt as to the liability (i.e. There is a legitimate tax question over your position and that of the IRS), or there is a doubt as to collect-ability (i.e. “Can you really pay it back?”). You can learn more about an offer in compromise here. Keep in mind, so long as the offer in compromise request is pending, you can still obtain or maintain your passport. So, start here if you still have issues to work out with the IRS before you agree to the amount owed in an installment agreement. Though, if you don’t have a legitimate reason for an offer in compromise, you should consider the installment agreement.
If you’ve got plans to travel abroad AND you’ve got a serious tax debt, be proactive about paying it back with an installment agreement or start the process of making an offer in compromise. You don’t want to be surprised by a letter in the mail from the state department that your passport has been revoked. Or even worse, have non-refundable travel plans that have to be cancelled because your passport is revoked. And, last but not least, be abroad and have your passport revoked and your travel status in jeopardy. You may just end up spending your foreign trip at the local U.S. Embassy.
by Mat Sorensen | Apr 20, 2015 | News
A Joint Venture Agreement (aka, “JV Agreement”) is a document many business owners and investors should become familiar with. In short, a JV Agreement is a contract between two or more parties where the parties outline the venture, who is providing what (money, services, credit, etc.), what the parties responsibility and authority are, how decisions will be made, how profits/losses are to be shared, and other venture specific terms.
A joint venture agreement is typically used by two parties (companies or individuals) who are entering into a “one-off” project, investment, or business opportunity. In many instances, the two parties will form a new company such as an LLC to conduct operations or to own the investment and this is usually the recommended path if the parties intend to operate together over the long term. However, if the opportunity between the parties is a “one-off” venture where the parties intend to cease working together once the agreement or deal is completed, a joint venture agreement may be an excellent option.
For example, consider a common JV Agreement scenario used by real estate investors. A real estate investor purchases a property in their LLC or s-corporation and intends to rehab and then sell the property for a profit. The real estate investors finds a contractor to conduct the rehab and the arrangement with the contractor is that the contractor will be reimbursed their expenses and costs and is then paid a share of the profits from the sale of the property following the rehab. In this scenario, the JV Agreement works well as the parties can outline the responsibilities and how profits/losses will be shared following the sale of the property. It is possible to have the contractor added to the real estate investors s-corporation or LLC in order to share in profits, but that typically wouldn’t be advisable as that contractor would permanently be an owner of the real estate investor’s company and the real estate investor will likely use that company for other properties and investments where the contractor is not involved. As a result, a JV Agreement between the real estate investors company that owns the property and the contractors construction company that will complete the construction work is preferred as each party keeps control and ownership of their own company and they divide profits and responsibility on the project being completed together.
While a new company is not required when entering into a JV Agreement, many JV Agreements benefit from having a joint venture specific LLC that is created just for the purpose of the JV Agreement. This venture specific LLC is advisable in a couple of situations. First, where the parties do not have an entity under which to conduct business and which will provide liability protection. In this instance, a new company should be formed anyways for liability purposes and depending on the parties future intentions a new LLC between the parties may work well. Second, where the arrangement carries significant liability, capital, or other resources. The more money, time, and liability involved in the venture will give more reason to having a separate new LLC to own the new venture and to isolate liability, capital, and other resources. A $1M deal or venture could be done with a JV Agreement alone, however, the parties would be well advised to establish a new entity as part of the JV Agreement. On the other hand, if the venture is only a matter of tens of thousands of dollars, the costs of a new entity may outweigh the benefits of a separate LLC for the venture.
There are numerous scenarios where JV Agreements are used in real estate investments, business start-ups, and in other business situations. Careful consideration should be made when entering into a JV Agreement and each Agreement is always unique and requires some special tailoring.
