All Forum Posts by: Jerel Ehlert

Landlords (well, really, all parties) have a duty to mitigate damages.  That means you must make commercially reasonable attempts to re-let the property.  Your damages are linted to lost rents and/or what is in the lease.

But ask yourself the turnip question: Even if you win, and get an award for everything you believe you are due, can you collect?  Otherwise, what are you doing this for?

Unless you have a high-end rental, damages should be well under the $10K threshold.  If the property damage was a lot, make an insurance claim (see "turnip question" above).

TREC is a good, solid contract that title companies know how to deal with.  RE Agents are required to use it.  Tends to be balanced.

I have a solid rehab contract and auxiliary docs that addresses several major points.

I started out in REI in 2000, wholesaling, then moved to rehabbing, got a partner, then buy-and-holds. By the time the 2008 crash, my partners and I decided to liquidate and go separate ways. It was only in 2012 that I matriculated to South Texas College of Law. Many of my clients are in the REI industry.

I can assist in structuring deals, clearing title issues, sending demand letters requesting compliance with contracts.  

We draft closing docs for private and hardmoney lenders (1st, 2nd, sub-2, wraps).  

I have assisted in the purchase and sale of businesses, commercial deals, and performing/non-performing notes.  

We represent clients in pre-litigation settlements through trial and appeal.  This can be plaintiff or defendant in business disputes (partnership breakups), consumer DTPA claims, breach of contract, specific performance, probate (title issues), adverse possession/trespass to try title (quiet title actions for breaks in the chain of title), or suit for declaratory judgement (interpreting a contract or boundary).

I am admitted to all TX state courts, and the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas.  Often enough, a borrower will file bankruptcy up to the day of a foreclosure sale we perform for lenders, and so we assist clients in representing them in federal bankruptcy court to lift the automatic stay - allowing us to continue with the foreclosure.

For evictions, REIs will typically do it themselves or hire a service because it is cheaper.  We do it when there is something more going on than just an eviction or it is a commercial eviction case.

Hope this helps.

S-Corp and C-Corp are tax structures under the federal code, not legal structures, and provide no limited liability. Legal structures like LLCs, for profit corporations, General and Limited Partnerships are found under state code, not federal. An LLC (legal) can be taxed as s-corp, c-corp, or disregarded (tax).

Hi Guac,

I'm aware that in some states, trusts for land are treated differently than for other purposes.  In Texas, all trusts are governed under the same statutes.  I have drafted trusts for real estate investors many times.

Probate cases are available for viewing in Harris County by merely registering at the county clerk's official website.  Probate cases are sequentially numbered.  Most info is posted, but nothing connects a decedant's name with all real property they may own, so you will want to cross-check against appraisal district info.  If you can get a deal with the administrator/executor/heirs, see if there are other properties outside Harris County.

Why buy retail? Ideally you want to buy 70% of ARV ($108K) or up to 80% ARV ($124K), less repairs in both instances. Regardless of the nay-sayers, it is very possible to do. If you are still willing to put 20% down on those price points, re-run your numbers and will see that the cashflow model is much better.

I agree with @Zuy Vu, no idea what Chris Ellis is talking about.  You will get, at most, 1 month's rent as security deposit.  Rent is what the market says.

Probably only for those that really don't care, would a living room work as a rental.  Totally undefensible in court.  One of the property rights a tenant gets in a lease is the right to exclude others.  Living rooms are common areas.  No possibility to exclude other tenants from the space.  Hanging sheets from lines to make "walls" doesn't really work either.

Besides, the market won't accept it.  you would have to discount the rent steeply from market to get a taker, and then the applicant's quality will be pretty low.  Got to ask if it is worth the hassel.

In Texas, it is well established that failure of consideration does not invalidate an earnest money contract.  

That said, it depends on how far you want to go with this.  Even in real estate cases, specific performance can be difficult to get.  If this were an arm's length transaction and no extra-contractual relationships to deal with, I would open title if you haven't already and file a memorandum of contract.  Explain to the seller that there is no "seller's remorse" and that the contract is enforceable.

If the seller is adamant about listing, not much you can do other than sue for breach of contract.  A memo will appear in the title report and seller should have to get your release (usually by paying for it).  A demand letter from an attorney may produce results without suit.  A suit will cost $3-8K (or more), with no guarantee of success.

Realtors should come down against restricting short-term rentals because the temporary lease-back would be prohibited. True, a restriction could be narrowly tailored to exclude everything *except* an ABB-type lease, but that exposes the HOA restriction to other challenges.

I work with a large number of RE investors in my practice.  I also started as an investor in 2000, and only went to law school after the crash.  I have worked with investors in Austin for several years and will be opening a 2nd office there next month.

What's going on with the seller's disclosure?