Expert: John - 8/31/2007

Question
Myself and 7 family members would like to pool our money to purchase real estate.  We would each put $100 in an account and when it added up to an amount sufficient for a down payment, we would put it toward a low priced vacation cottage to fix up and rent out.  The plan would be to put our monthly dues toward the mortgage which would be offset by the money we would receive from rents collected.  Any remaining money would be reinvested toward a second property and so on....  How would you recommend we structure such an arrangement?  How would we set up a mortgage loan?  Do you think we could qualify as a group, combining our personal incomes? I am concerned that if we operate as a company with no profit to start, we would not be able to receive a loan.  On the other hand, I would not want one of us to be the borrower for the group because that person would be most invested and would therefore carry more responsibility.  How can we do this to maximize profit and minimize potential problems?

Answer
Hi, I found your question in the question pool.  
Sounds like a good plan.  The first thing you need to do is see an real estate attorney to get all the answers you need.
As for structure arrangement, it is best to talk this over with a real estate attorney.
As for mortgage, I believe the group should be able to get a loan together.  Each with there own share.

Hope this helps.
Good luck,
John