All Forum Posts by: Bret Allen

You are not legally restricted from purchasing in an LLC. But as Martin explained, your lender may have internal restrictions/guidelines that won't allow it.

I am new here, but I will try to make it on Wednesday. 

Sounds fun.

I know a good boutique real estate transaction firm in Dallas that can help.  Send me a PM and I will share their information. 

Bret

Thank you for sharing the information.  Just curious, does anyone know of a law firm in Texas that will handle property tax protests/appeals?

Also, what % does the propertytaxprotest and poconnor charge to handle the process?

Depends on your definition of expensive.   There are many services around $100/year.  Many attorneys will also serve for that price.  A quick google search gives a long list of possibilities.   

@Fred Heller is correct that a friend or business partner or other entity can serve.  

Texas does not require an attorney at the JP court level.  If the tenant appeals then you will need to hire an attorney.

@Xavier Benitez Although you can use any contract you want, the contract forms promulgated by TREC are used most often in Texas. You can find them here. These forms will cover 95% of what you will need as a wholesaler.  

@Frederic Depuydt Welcome! 

Rakesh Patel would be a good immigration attorney for you.  His firm can handle the immigration issues and he and his other attorneys are also very familiar with real estate investing, venture capital structure/start ups, etc.

Good Luck.

@Erik Allahverdian

My comment was that it depends on how you come accross the deal.  For example, the licensing board doesn't look too kindly on agents that market themselves as agents, get in the door as agents, earn the trust of the client or potential client, and then convince the new client or potential client to sell you the property below market value.  If you are going to buy your clients property (or someone that thinks you might be their agent) then you probably need to take extra steps -- i.e.,  tell them what the property is worth and give them a chance to talk to an attorney or other agent before you close the deal. In some circumstances you may conflict yourself out of the deal, but most deals can move forward with proper disclosure.

If you (or your investment company) are working to find properties from people that are not your clients and you are not soliciting them as an agent then you may not need to disclose anything or you may need to simply disclose that you are an agent representing a related entity looking to buy your own investments.  There are many other combinations of possible factual situations.

This is a fact intensive analysis with a handful of set rules.  If you are worried about whether you should or shouldn't disclose then send me a PM and we can look at the facts and rules together.

@Account Closed has given good advice (along with others here).  Your contract and relationship with the contractor and subs makes all the difference in Texas.  The timelines are short for involuntary mechanic liens but the process to file the lien is not overly difficult.  The contractor and his subs are usually entitled to get paid for work completed.  I guess the real question is why are you firing him?  Has he missed deadlines, done poor work, etc?  Are you going to have to hire someone else to fix his bad work?  If that is the case then you may want to consider hiring an attorney early so that you can prepare a defense against any forthcoming liens -- or to possibly take preventive steps to send the contractor notice that you aren't going to pay based on bad performance.  These things matter if you end up in litigation later down the road.  After a full consult with your attorney you should be able to have a solid game plan moving forward.

Good Luck!

** Bret is an attorney licensed in CA and TX but he is not your attorney.  Nothing in this post is intended to create an attorney client relationship.  You should seek counsel from your own attorney before taking any action based on information found in a forum online as the actual facts of the situation and issues may vary.