My siblings and I have inherited property in DE and we live outstide of DE (VA and CA). We are planning to put the house into an LLC and use...

Question

My siblings and I have inherited property in DE and we live outstide of DE (VA and CA). We are planning to put the house into an LLC and use as a rental property. Do we need to form the LLC in DE because that is where the property is located or would VA be better becuase two of us live there? Are their better tax and/or fee advantages for either state? We are looking to keep this simple and easy.

Answer

It is probably better to form a corporation or LLC in Delaware, because you would probably have to REGISTER a VIrginia corporation or LLC in Delaware anyway. So you then end up with a two-step process instead of a one-step process.

If you create a corporation or LLC in Virginia, then this would be considered a "foreign" (not domestic or out of state) company as far as Delaware is concerned. (NOTE: I am not a Delaware attorney, and I am not licensed in Delaware, but these are general principles that apply in all States.)

So if you create a Virginia corporation, you would then have the additional step of registering an out-of-state corporation or LLC in Delaware also. So you have almost twice as much paperwork and annual fees to maintain it in both States.

It is possible (I don't know Delaware law in detail) that if you only own one piece of property and don't do much business with the LLC in Delaware, you could get away without registering the company in Delaware. But if you are engaged in renting a lot, especially if you have to ever go to court and collect rent, then you would have to register in Delaware, also.

STRANGELY, I have already paid Legal Zoom for the creation of an LLC, including paying for the annual fee of a registered agent in Delaware... and my client has not made use of the LLC. (I created two, and my client has used one, and never got around to making any final decisions about the second. She never decided on a name.) So I have a paid order for an LLC in Delaware with Legal Zoom waiting to be processed (waiting for a final decision on the name).

So if you wanted to pay the actual out-of-pocket cost to Legal Zoom (something like $353 as I recall) I could set it up for you at no additional cost or fee, because it would get it off of my desk and get my money back.

Also, if you are looking for anyone to help manage things there in Delaware, I know people there in various place.