All Forum Posts by: Bob Floss II

@Shawn Ackerman @Ryan S. Sound advice. The title commitment has a section for insuring the seller has no other contracts on the property. If a seller tries to back out, you can record the contract on the property. It prevents the seller from trying to sell to a different buyer and the title company will catch it. 

@Kyle Kulhanek Are you planning to transfer the property into an LLC owned by both individuals on title? If so, there are no transfer taxes due.

I don't know the laws in your area, but tread carefully assuming a judge will award specific performance when money damages are available.

Sit down and hash out every detail and put it in writing. Don't operate under the, "we get along and can figure it out" mindset. 

@Terris Elliott If an LLC has a single member, it certainly makes things easier. There are still details to keep in mind that I rarely see addressed in stock operating agreements. You want to make sure your operating agreement addresses your estate plan and how you want your membership treated when you pass. Each state is different but Illinois creates a problem that has to be addressed.

Quote from @Kranti K.:

Has anyone dealt with objecting a subpeona to a land trust to disclose beneficiaries. Apparently it is easy to send a subpeona to the trustee to get beneficiaries information. What is the value of a land trust if it is easy to get the information.

I think we have over looked the important detail of why you served with a subpoena.

On another note, a Trust is an estate planning tool, nothing more. A Land Trust is meant to add a layer of anonymity, but it does not grant a legal barrier to prevent the court from inquiring on the beneficiaries of the Trust.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. I want my kids to be in position to succeed in life. I typically recommend my clients allow me to set up a Trust for their family. That being said, I have worked with many second and third generation wealth clients. If you raise your kids right, they will use the money wisely. If you don't, there is no planning on earth that will prevent your kids from finding a way to waste all the money.

@Christopher Eduardo It's hard to answer the question without knowing a lot of details on their chapter 13 plan and how much they are getting from the sale of the house. They have a few options including paying off the plan early and completing the chapter 13 and then selling the property. 

Wow, there is a lot of misinformation being thrown around here and I don't have time to respond to it all, but here are a few things I noticed:

Yes, attorneys are paid a portion of the title premium because we are the ones doing the title examination and we underwrite the title policy (at least in Illinois). The title insurer reviews our work and generates the policy.

No, the statistics on the rate of title policy claims are not correct. Generally policy claims are made when there is a large mistake. I small mistake will be paid out of pocket by the title company to avoid filing a claim. There's also a risk the title company could hold the attorney responsible to pay for an error they made in the title exam or clearing title. The rate of errors at closing are much higher than reported.

Yes, you can try to research the property and avoid paying for title insurance. Keep in mind I do this for a living and I would never buy a property without title insurance. There's a bit of ego in this thread to assume you know better than the people who this for a living.

Yes, there is a lot that goes into a title policy beyond checking taxes and the recorders website. It covers you for boundary line disputes, it verifies the person who is selling you the property is actually the owner (that out of state seller you are dealing with may not be the seller and presented fraudulent documents), title does a name search to verify the parties do not have liens against them personally, lawsuits, bankruptcy, probate, or something else that could prevent the buyer from having full ownership of the property.

At the end of the day, you want someone else to have the liability if something goes wrong with your closing.

@Arzu Alimjan Lots of missing information here so it's hard to point you in the right direction. It sounds like perhaps the investment was made in an LLC? Were the investors made a part of the LLC? You could use the operating agreement to take control of the LLC and therefore the property. If not, and it sounds like you don't have a promissory note and mortgage, you'll have an uphill battle. You need to meet with an attorney in the jurisdiction of the house and get started right away.