A business entity is a legal relationship which allows for certain privileges. When teaching people about entities, I like refer to an often forgotten fact: In England during the colonial period the ability to create a corporation required an exclusive grant (i.e., permission) from the Crown (that’s right the King or the Queen!). Remember a business entity is a privilege!

A business entity can provide personal liability protection for its owners. The problem is that many people start business without proper instruction on how to run and manage agreements between parties, agreements with customers, internal paperwork, cash controls, voting rules, state and Federal reporting requirements and a host of other issues.

"FREE" Internet Estimated Values: Do they help you set a sales price?

I always say that when choosing a business entity, you must evaluate the tax advantages and disadvantages BUT ALSO the level of liability protection. LET’S LOOK AT A COMMON TRUTH: Many attorneys recommend the corporation to their clients. For the most part, corporations will provide good protection from ‘traditional liabilities’. In other words, if the business is sued for its business activities, then I consider this a ‘traditional liability’ situation. In most instances (a properly set up and maintained corporation) will protect the owners from personal liability.

POINT # 1: Many investors believe that they can create a limited liability company (LLC) or file a corporate charter with the state and always have liability protection. This is SIMPLY NOT TRUE. The truth is that each of these business entities (the LLC, the corporation and even the limited partnership) require certain key steps after the structure is created. I always like to compare business entities to a fancy Italian sports car or a new baby…they WILL DEMAND PROPER CARE AND FEEDING! They are fun on the first day, but you had better know how to maintain them. You can’t neglect the baby or take the fancy Italian sports car for a spin without any oil in the engine. If you do then a disaster is coming! Many new business owners believe that because they hired an attorney or service to create their new business entity, the work is done. The truth is that what you do after the entity is created is most important. There are countless nuisances, details, traps which must be understood in order to MAINTAIN LIABILITY PROTECTION.

I see it several times per day, everyday: An LLC disaster waiting to happen! No matter where I travel or with whom I speak, it’s clear that small to mid-sized business owners are not getting proper instruction on how to create, run, and maintain a ‘rock solid’ LLC. Did you or your attorney form your LLC? Are you now left with a stack of papers and confusion?

What you might not know about credit. Some people don’t know about a loop hole in the credit reporting system. You probably know that a loan in your name gets reported to the credit bureaus. And this borrowed money shows up on your credit report. The more you owe on your credit report the lower your credit score will be.

Are you ready for the lesson that will put you ahead of 99% of all real estate investors? Here it is in a nutshell … USE AS LITTLE CASH AS POSSIBLE! The days of mortgage burning parties are long over. But you will still meet people who believe that it is good idea to pay off the mortgage on a property so that they can have big cash flow. Why do people want to own real estate free and clear? Because they believe it's the way to make more money. But let's do a little number crunching:

I've been teaching people how to buy foreclosure properties for a long time. And we all make the biggest profits on the deals that we rehab the right way. But this does NOT mean what you might think! The right way to rehab any property is by using a new business credit card or business line of credit, NOT your personal cash. Most new real estate investors leave a lot of money on the table when they quickly buy and sell foreclosed houses. Why do they do this?

In this second part Tonight Tracy talks about "Identity theft" and how to protect yourself from being a victim.

Want to see a trick every real estate investor will love? >From the Desk of Thomas Kish Crazy as it may sound... ...there really is something that can create cash flow out of thin air. And it has nothing to do with a magic wand or pulling rabbits out of a hat. It has to do with the use of credit – but not in the way you are probably thinking.