Setting Up A Legal Structure For Your Investing Business

Here's my 7 Step Process to Setting Up a Legal Structure for Your Real Estate Investing Business...(It’s secretly simple!)

When I first began learning about real estate investing, I thought for certain I was “putting the cart before the horse” by setting up a corporate structure for my company when I had no revenue or company assets to protect at the time. I quickly learned (from Jeff Watson; an expert short-sale lawyer and resource of mine), that you really can’t do this step too early in your real estate business or in any business venture of your own for that matter. If you are working hard to get it – work hard to protect it!

The main reason for initially setting up a business structure is to set clear parameters that you and your business are operating as two separate entities in the eyes of the IRS. There are many entity structures to choose from (since I am not an attorney nor an accountant, I can’t professionally advise); but I can tell you that I personally set up an LLC.

The 2 Greatest Pieces Of Information I Discovered When I Wanted To Set Up My LLC Was That:

1) You do not need an attorney to do this

2) It does not cost a ton of money or time

These steps today are customized for people wanting to incorporate in the State of Michigan; however, other states have similar processes and you can use these steps as a guideline. I recommend you start with your state’s Secretary of State website since you can usually find quick links to “starting a business”. Even quicker, simply Google “incorporating in (name of your state)” to start.

Here Are The 7 Simple Steps To Get A Legal Structure Set Up For Your Real Estate Investing Business In The State Of Michigan:

1.) Verify Business Name is Available:
Go to the State of Michigan’s Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG) website and search the Corporation Division Name Division to be sure your desired business name is not currently being used:
http://www2.dleg.state.mi.us/CORPORATIONS/htmldb/f?p=210:1:3618253801012695048

2.) Download Forms:
Go to this link on the State of MI DELEG website and download the following forms:
http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/dms/results.asp?docowner=BCSC&doccat=LLC

Form 900 – Mich ELF Cover Sheet Form 901 – Mich ELF Application Form 700 – Articles of Organization 3.) Pay Registration Fee: Use form 901 - a one page fax-sheet used to get your credit card on file with the state so you can pay for the $50 LLC registration fee via credit card (I opted to do this because I didn’t want to mail payment via a check, which obviously takes longer). This fee can vary widely by state of course. 4.) Verification: You will know that your credit card is correctly on file with the State because they will fax you back a form with your “new assigned Mich-ELF Filer Number”. 5.) Complete Articles of Organization: Complete form 700 – the Articles of Organization. This is where you write in the desired name of your LLC, the address, and name yourself as the registered agent. 6.) Fax Articles of Organization: Fax the completed form 700 to the State of MI (the # to fax to is on the document); and use form 900 as a cover sheet. You must use form 900 as a cover sheet because that is where you will include that new Mich-ELF Filer Number the State assigned you and this will bill the credit card associated with that ELF number for the processing of your LLC. 7.) Confirm Status: In my experience, within 24 hours, you can confirm the status of your LLC by going to: http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/sr_corp.asp. Type in your entity name to see the filing status, or you can always call the State office to be sure your request has been processed. Once completed, CONGRATS! You have taken the first steps to setting up a legal structure for your business!

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60 User Interface Design Tools A Web Designer Must Have

The success of web applications and websites depends in how well designed the User Interface is. Designing a good user interface however is a very challenging process. A designer’s concepts and design decisions always affect the end users of the web site, application or generally any user interface or service he has designed. That is why, the dream of every designer is to deliver high quality, enjoyable and valuable experiences for the users. To achieve this goal, it is necessary that a web designer have a collection of web user interface resources and building blocks in his arsenal. There is a variety of User Interface resources that allows you as designer to access, redefine, and create a well crafted User Interface. In this article I am presenting a collection of User Interface Design tools that a web designer can use to realize his design goals. Let us explore these things and further our own craft. Be fascinated!

User Interface Design Tools

1. ForeUI

ForeUI is an easy-to-use UI prototyping tool, designed to create mockup / wireframe / prototypes for any application or website you have in mind. With ForeUI, your prototype project will be skinnable. Easily change the look and feel of your prototype by simply switching the UI theme.

2. LivePipe UI

LivePipe UI is a suite of high quality widgets and controls for web 2.0 applications built using the Prototype JavaScript Framework. Each control is well tested, highly extensible, fully documented and degrades gracefully for non JavaScript enabled browsers where possible.

3. DesignerVista

Design Professional Quality GUI Mockups using tremendous number of native controls, widgets, clip art, icons, etc. available right in the application. Practically anything you might want to put on a GUI screen is already available, and in high quality art in DesignerVista

4. Napkee

Napkee lets you export Balsamiq Mockups to HTML/CSS/JS and Adobe Flex 3 at a click of a button.

5. iPhone Mockup

iPhone Mockup lets you create user interface for an iPhone app in a drag and drop system.

6. Eclipse Stencil for OmniGraffle

This stencil enables you to easily prototype Eclipse (wizard) dialogs with OmniGraffle.

7. Gliffy

Gliffy free wireframe software makes it easy to create website wireframes and to share web mockups with anyone.

8. Small GUI Pack

Small Graphical User Interface Elements Pack.

9. Wireframe Magnets (DIY Kit)

This DIY magnet template is based on the Konigi wireframe stencils and includes 3 sheets of elements that might be useful in whiteboard prototyping.

10. Flex 3 Stencil

Includes all Flex components from Flex 3 Style Guide: panels, data grid, buttons, fields, links, toggle, menu, scrolls, accordion, tabs, list, data picker, tool tip, errors etc.

11. Facebook Applications

A pretty sizable collection of Facebook related elements to use in creating wireframes for Facebook applications.

12. Patternry

Patternry is a user interface design pattern library aimed to help solve common interface design problems.

13. User Interface Design Patterns

User Interface Design patterns are recurring solutions that solve common design problems. Design patterns are standard reference points for the experienced user interface designer.

14. Pattern Tap

Pattern Tap is here to satisfy and encourage the inspiration needs of interface design peers and peeps. It aspires to be the one stop pattern shop for your next inspiration need.

15. User Interface Design Framework

A free User Interface Design tool for Web Designers.

16. Lumzy

Lumzy is a quick mockup and creation and prototyping tool.

17. Android Asset Studio

The launcher icon generator will create icons that you can use in your Android application, from a variety of source images. To begin, simply enter the input details below. Output will be shown below.

18. Mephobox

Great resource for finding design pattern inspiration. You can browse by user or website, or check out collections based on individual design elements.

19. Mobility UI Design Elements

A free set of UI design elements.

20. Mockingbird

Mockingbird is an online tool that makes it easy for you to create, link together, preview, and share mockups of your website or application.

21. Serena Prototype Composer

Serena Prototype Composer makes it possible to simulate how an application will look and function before any code is ever written.

22. Fivesecondtest

Fivesecondtest helps you fine tune your landing pages and calls to action by analyzing the most prominent elements of your design.

23. Android UI Elements Set

Free set of classic Android OS UI elements.

24. Massive Web UI and Button Set

This set contains all of the following elements in three distinct styles: glossy, satin/light gradient, and one-color. The satin/light gradient set is available in 7 different colors (which you’ll find all of in the psd file), all of these for free.

25. Best Practice UX Forms Stencil

This forms contain different button layouts, a progress indicator, captcha code input field, labels and more.

26. The Pencil Project

The Pencil Project’s unique mission is to build a free and opensource tool for making diagrams and GUI prototyping that everyone can use.

27. Mocklinkr

Use mocklinkr to convey your static mockups as a linked-up and clickable website to impress your clients.

28. MockFlow

MockFlow helps to design interactive UI mockups for Desktop Software, Rich Internet Apps and Web sites.

29. OSX Leopard GUI Set

The package includes fully editable vector Photoshop sources and a customizable Fireworks PNG file, the original fonts that were utilized for the making of the GUI are also included.

30. iPad GUI Set

Everything you need for your iPad app layout in layered, vector PSD files.

31. iPlotz

iPlotz allows you to rapidly create clickable, navigable mockups and wireframes for prototyping websites and software applications.

32. ALL In One Web Elements Kit

Complete set of web elements you may find very useful for your upcoming project. A huge set of various web elements, easy to modify trough layer styles.

33. Javascript Kit

One of the original javascript snippet libraries on the Internet

34. Concept Feedback

Post your designs and concepts and get free feedback from the design community.

35. Webappers

Lots of jquery components including a very good collection of image editing snippets.

36. DHTMLX

DHTMLX is a JavaScript library that provides essential functionality for building cross-browser, Ajax-based user interfaces. Develop impressive web applications faster with a set of ready-to-use UI widgets.

37.HTML Goodies

Jquery resource with excellent step-by-step documentation.

38. Dojo

Dojo saves you time, delivers powerful performance, and scales with your development process. It’s the toolkit experienced developers turn to for building superior desktop and mobile web experiences.

39. Code Sucks

Javascript snippets with extremely detailed write ups about how they work.

40. Echo 3

Echo behaves as a user interface toolkit–like Swing or Eclipse SWT. AJAX technology is employed to deliver a user experience to web clients that approaches that of desktop-based applications.

41. Snipplr

A good resource with lots of newer scripts and jQuery techniques.

42. Midori

Midori is an ultra-lightweight JavaScript framework that gets the job done without getting in your way.

43. roScripts (beta)

Scripts, Snippets and Resources that can be voted on by users.

44. Scripty 2

Script2 is a powerful flexible Javascript framework to help you write your own delicious and user interfaces. .

45. Snippet Library

A library of user-submitted and reviewed snippets and code tutorials from a variety of programming languages.

46. ZK

ZK includes over 200 ajax components, all ready to go.

47. jQTouch

A jQuery plugin for mobile iPhone application development.

48. Hot Gloo

The Online Wireframe Application.

49. qTip2

A jQuery upgrade for the qTip tooltip plugin. Easily make stylish tooltips for your site.

50. WebResources Depot

Included in their large directory of design resources is a number of very useful scripts and snippets.

51. Fillerati

A unique alternative to Lorem Ipsum. Generate blocks of real text for your mockup. Select to receive your text from a variety of public domain works.

52. Open Source Scripts

Providing Javascript snippets and code.

53. HTML Assets

This is a collection of free Javascript code snippets. It has scripts setting the default focus on page elements (useful for HTML forms), scripts to auto-jump to the next form field when the current form field is full, and scripts to display the current date and time, reload the web page, print the web page, view the page source, close the browser window, and go back to the browser’s previous web page.

54. Mini Ajax

A collection of extremely elegant snippets.

55. Webcodr.com

A few very useful snippets for your website.

56. Editable Grid

EditableGrid is an open source Javascript library aimed at turning HTML tables into advanced editable components. It focuses on simplicity: only a few lines of code are required to get your first table up and running.

57. Cacoo

Cacoo is a user friendly online drawing tool that allows you to create a variety of diagrams such as site maps, wire frames, UML and network charts. It can be used free of charge.

58. Slidenote

SlideNote is a customizable, flexible jQuery plugin that makes it easy to display sliding notifications on your website or in your web application. It’s also available as a WordPress plugin.

59. Denim

DENIM is a system that helps web site designers in the early stages of design. DENIM supports sketching input, allows design at different refinement levels, and unifies the levels through zooming.

60. Placehold.it

A quick and simple image placeholder service.
If you have a plan for selling products and services I’ll recommend you are using a WordPress landing page theme or some WordPress ecommerce themes. Also don’t miss these best wordpress themes if you’re looking for a great theme for your website.

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