The Value of an Aged Corporate Shell or “Shelf” Corporation

While many stock-market investors have recently discovered the meaning of the word “risk”, it’s too bad they never learned to invest in Nevada shell corporations, which continue to appreciate in value.

An aged corporate shell—commonly referred to as a “shelf” corporation, an indication that it has not been used, only put “on the shelf”—will generally increase substantially in value over time. This is because there are those who can benefit greatly by the ability to instantly get into business and yet have the ability to say that the corporation has been in business for some time.

Generally, the value of an aged “shell” corporation is more than the amounts paid to keep it current, although there may be a significant difference between “bid” and “ask” due to the small size of the market.  If you are the holder of such an aged corporation with no real activity in its history, you just might find that it has been a fair investment. The best way to sell such an entity is often by consignment, whereby the seller consents to pay a percentage of the sale price realized to a middleman (typically, a resident agent such as BCR) with good contacts in the market place. Unfortunately, many who have held such a gem of an investment have been taken advantage of by predatory middlemen, who typically offer only a few hundred dollars for a corporation that they turn around and sell for many thousands of dollars.

Some people acquire a number of newborn corporations specifically as an investment.  If this sounds like something you would like to do, here are several steps you can take to maximize the value:

• Obtain an Employer Identification Number;
• Use nominee service so that there is no link to you personally;
• Open a no-interest bank account for the corporation;
• File “zero income” (non-activity) tax returns every year;
• DO NOT TRANSACT ANY BUSINESS WITH THE CORPORATION.

A shelf corporation maintained in this manner typically carries a premium of $1,000 PER YEAR OF AGE, in addition to the initial costs of setting it up. Even after annual maintenance costs (at least, through Budget Corporate Renewals) it is possible to have an annual gain of $500 to $1,000, making the incubation of shelf corporations a very rewarding enterprise!