All Forum Posts by: Laura Richards

The FL statute was change a few years ago; now the same entity acting as bene can also serve as T/ee. I have only used an LLC as Trustee, but since the trustee does nothing but hold title on behalf of the trust (bc a piece of paper can't hold title to real property) it really is just a personal preference. Plenty of people on here will tell you LLC is the only way to go (and only their LLC) because they want to charge you a yearly trustee fee - not necessary.

Too many acronyms - WST DSW

Yes, that LLC can act as a "property manager" if you dont want your Trustee doing these things for you. Seems like overkill though, IMHO.

I am telling clients to go ahead and send me the lease and the rent history. We are then pushing forward with serving the 3 day notice and prepping all other documents to cut down on the already crippling delay being forced upon landlords. Once the moratorium is lifted I'll formally file all of the paperwork. There will  almost certainly be a backlog stretching out the normal eviction timeline so I'm trying to get clients in the front of that queue as much as possible. 

Typically, an investor friendly title company means they know the difference between and how to work double closings, simultaneous closings, understand private money lenders, can amend title commitments for a subject to deal, etc. I have a blog post about how to identify an investor friendly title company posted here in BP. 

Hi Chris, I own an investor friendly title company with 6 in Florida. I an Trustee for 100's of land trust in the State. Feel free to call me or send over a contract and we'll take care of it for you - RTR Title. 

Yes. The land trusts already gives you the separation you are looking for. Some clients will create separate LLC's to use depending on which type of "product" they are putting in the trust - flip vs rental.

The parameters for the deed should be determined based upon the state where the property is located.

I do a lot of land trust business in Florida where they codified by a statute that makes them a terrific vehicle for investors under the right circumstances. With that said, even in Florida, I don't recommend them for your purposes. 

@Perez Leanne I'm a FL attorney in Maitland and I represent private money lenders. Lending is tightening up all of the country. They are requiring higher credit scores (although the bar is still pretty low - atleast 600). Also, some lenders will only loan to experienced investors at a good rate, investors with less experience get a higher rate because there is a greater risk that they will botch the rehab, misappropriate funds, etc. 

In the end, the  most important thing to a lender are the numbers- is there enough equity to secure the loan even if the borrower completely screws everything up. You just have to present them with a good deal and you will be able to find a lender. If you need a referral for a lender call me. 

Using land trusts for mobile home parks can be tricky. A land trust can only hold title to real property so the problem with using land trusts for mobile home parks is that the trust could only hold title to the lots. The homes would be considered a chattel which would need to be in some other entity. This is without taking into consideration that each state is different as far as how they treat the mobile home. Florida, for example, allows the mobile home to be considered real property if the owner of the mobile home also owns the lot and mobile home is "affixed" to the lot. 

@Raj Gott I have a standard land trust and a mortgage land trust. I use the same forms over and over depending on which one fits the deal. There may be supplementary docs if the deals calls for them (powers of direction, assignments, etc). When it't time to get a conventional loan where lender requires that title be in your personal name the trust just deeds it back to you via a warranty or quit claim deed depending on what the lender prefers.