and that also has a mortgage?

In other words, if I have 9 properties with financing, can I transfer them to an LLC and buy 9 more properties with financing under my name?

The title changes along with asset protection of the each property. If you want all of the 9 properties protected individually then you would hold each in a seperate llc. LLC's are seen as seperate entities unless you pierce the corporate veil or commingle funds.

The mortgages and debt ratios are however STILL in your name so it wouldn't wipe the slate clean. You would need to refinance using corporate credit or sell some of those assets and exchange the profit and defer the gain into new properties.

The real answer is everyone's situation is different and there are tax,asset,and so many other issues involved.

Legal? Yes. But it could trigger the due on sale clause within the mortgage contract. Would the lender accelerate a loan because of the DOS violation? 99.9% positive they won't.

As SR mentioned above, just because you transfer title does not mean you've transferred the debt obligations to the LLC. Note/Mortgage are still in your name.

For asset protection, I'd transfer each of them into their own, separate trust. Cheaper, less hassle, and living/revocable trusts are exempt from Due on Sale violations.

I didn't think living/revocable trusts protected assets because the grantor/trustee/beneficiary are the same person and still in control of the assets. In other words, the grantor/trustee can manage assets, give them away or sell them at wil until time of death, whereas under an irrevocable trust the assets are managed by an independent trustee.

I would think an LLC would be the better choice for protection of assets

While many revocable trusts have the same person in all 3 roles, there is absolutely no reason you couldn't have 3 different parties involved. Many times you'll see family trusts setup with parents are trustors, their attorney as the trustee, and their children as the benes.

In real estate deals, I'd suggest a separate trust for each property with a 3rd party trustee (can you your attorney, or even a separate entity you use only for trustee-ship), and a single LLC as the bene for all the trusts. Remember, the only party on public record will be the trustee, along with the trust's name.

LLC costs ($800/yr minimum in CA for example) and maintenance can be prohibitive if you have a large number of properties.

Trust acts as a "cloaking device" and the LLC gives asset protection.

Mamie the point is trusts and their laws and applications vary state to state. So for you if your investing locally you need to find out what applies to your world.