Investing in Real Estate can be an intimidating experience, especially on your first time out. It can be a daunting task to come up with all the money you may need to get started investing in Real Estate. But you don’t have to try and do it on your own. A Real Estate Investment Club is a great way to bring together people who have different talents and attributes to act as a single unit to invest.

There are different types of investing partners who individually bring to the group some asset that is valuable to the rest of the members. You may be experienced in construction or even a contractor but you lack the knowledge you need for financing, or finding property or other aspect. Perhaps you lack the money to get started. If the latter is true, by finding a money partner you can solve that aspect of the Vclubshop equation. By bringing in a licensed real estate agent to be a member you can have a great source for property leads. Similarly by finding a person who works in financing, you can benefit from his or her knowledge of the financing industry.

Now I know what you are thinking – if I bring in all of these partners, I stand to lose a great deal of the profits as opposed to just doing it myself. But the beauty of assembling a group of professionals in an investment club is that you can be doing many more projects than you could do on your own. Conceivably, you could be doing as many projects as you have members. While one project is in the remodel or rehab stage you can be looking for your next deal or two. As all of this is going on, another project can be actively being marketed for sale. With a system and a team of professionals who each bring something different to the table, you can handle many more projects. If your club starts closing on one property a month, it can add up to a significant income even though you are splitting the profits with the other members.

Once you assemble the members you want to be in your club Vclubshop , hold your first meeting and establish the ground rules. Set forth all of expectations of each of the members, how often you intend to hold meetings, the amount of monthly dues, how profits (or losses) will be handled and so on. Explain to all members that whenever you invest, it is possible to lose part or all of your money. Also explain to all of the members that income taxes will the responsibility of each individual member. Allow all of the members to have a voice in developing your operating agreement. In this way, the entire membership will know starting out just what is expected of themselves and the others. Once you have laid the foundation for your club, you should put it together into a formal partnership agreement that will be distributed to each member. Partnership agreements for investment clubs are available on-line, along with numerous accounting forms and spreadsheets to help you keep track of your money and investments.

Some clubs have even taken it to the next level and formed an LLC or S Corporation to protect the assets of the club. In the event any one individual is sued outside of the club, this could potentially endanger the assets of the whole club. By shielding the assets in a legal entity only the percentage of the assets that can be attributed to any one individual can be attached or attacked. Conversely, if some action of the club were to cause a lawsuit, the members could be protected personally from the actions of the club.

Elect officers of the club and define each member’s duties. Designate, for example, which member or members will be searching for properties to bring to the club and who will do research on the properties. Establish how financing will be handled and how title will be taken on the property. In Vclubshop the absence of a legal entity, one or more individuals will have to take title. With a legal entity such as an LLC, the entity could possibly take title.