What About Buying a “Shelf Company”?
In the past, many of those needing to incorporate a company fast could purchase a shelf company, or a previously formed corporation or LLC that is in existence already.
A shelf company still provides some advantages even though online incorporation services like MaxFilings make it easy to quickly form a corporation or LLC online.
If you wish to acquire a company with some age, shelf companies that have existed for many years can be found. They may also have established bank accounts, federal tax identification numbers and tax returns. However, the older the company and the more it offers, the higher the price.
While there are some advantages, buying a shelf company is initially more costly and troublesome than simply forming a new corporation or LLC online. A shelf company requires some house cleaning tasks, such as transfer of ownership of shares, replacing directors and members and changing the business name.
If you are interested in buying a shelf company, you should consult with a qualified professional to ensure you are properly weighing the pros and cons.
Form your corporation or LLC online easily at MaxFilings.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Generally, I believed it was a bad idea to get shelf companies. You have to be careful of the company’s history, no one wants a company that has had credit problems in the past! While it is sometimes faster, forming a company can normally be done cheaply within three or four hours these days, so I think off the shelf companies are becoming a hard product to sell.