Asset Separation is a Great Start...But Not Always Private - Brandon's Story

Brandon was a regular working guy, buying real estate for a few years. He had a great job, and funded his real estate with it. He started in his 20s, and when he was single. He’s the kind of guy who just “gets after it.”
One day, he got a knock on the door from someone he didn’t know. Turns out it was one of his tenants. He owned a few houses fairly close to his home. He also used a property manager to oversee things because he still worked in his regular job during this time.
Brandon was listening to his tenant talk about some property that was damaged, and the tenant felt they should not have to pay for it.

“Why isn’t my property manager handling this?” Brandon thought to himself.

Brandon was getting more tense as he listened.

“Hey, I don’t want to sound rude, but can I ask how you got to my house?”

Turns out, the tenant looked up Brandon’s info from a people search site. Even though he used a property management company, the tenant still knew his name, and used that to discover him on a people search website. He never expected to get a knock on the door, or a call from a tenant...that’s why he used a property management company.
When the conversation was over, Brandon went back inside. He thought a lot about what just happened and got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He felt like his privacy was violated.

When I was learning this about Brandon, I knew he was going to enhance his security with legal protection. We both agree that separating your personal information from your business and real estate information can give you an additional layer of concealment...like the kind you want when an angry tenant wants to knock on your door.
This really shook Brandon up. He never suspected this could have happened to him...never even considered it. Instead, he caught so caught up in the success to investing, he completely missed the importance or protecting yourself...and got taken by surprise.
What if his wife had to answer the door in stead of him? Just the possibility of this happening again was enough to freak Brandon out. He immediately understood the risks of not protecting yourself.

Today, Brandon is married with a baby. His properties have a separate legal separation from his personal assets. This way, if his wife, or son, ever got into a legal situation, they won’t disturb their personal finances. He also owns his investment property in other states, so only the most motivated of people would be able to knock on his door now.

It’s vitally important to learn about privacy and security when you’re investing in real estate. It’s a great idea to take initiative and focus on these two different, but equally important concepts...as One hand washes the other, and both wash the face.”
Don't wait for someone to knock on you door before you take action. Make yourself nearly invisible from from online searches, and offline searches and separate your personal information from your real estate business information.

Names have been changed to protect privacy.