All Forum Posts by: Laura Richards

A trust is just a piece of paper which means it cant open a checking account. Your trustee will need to be the named party to open the account on behalf of a trust. I don't allow clients to open up bank accounts in my name as Trustee. Rather, as the Trustee, I am the owner of the property on behalf of the trust so I just appoint my beneficiary as "property manager" for the trust. The property manager has its own banking accounts for handling escrow deposits vs. rent checks - you will need to be familiar with the rules on separating the two in your state. 

Ok, I tried to give you a really thorough answer that would have explained all of the St Germaine stuff and how it relates to due on sale clauses, but the  boss said it was self promotion and removed it. If you go to my profile you will see where I work and can go to my blog for the answer. :)

@Ryan Dula, yes, you can have the original trustee resign and they will still show as trustee - at somewhere like the property appraisers office, but why would you want to do that? Then all notices from governmental offices (like code violations) will be sent to your old trustee. Everyone interested in purchasing property will only have the old trustees information. Once that old trustee has resigned they are under no obligation to forward these notices or inquiries. I see that you are local to me, and I can assure that all government office do not check the more accurate resources for ownership information (Clerk of courts or Comptroller) which means you could be missing some important info.  There is a much better way to accomplish what you are trying to do. 

A land trust is just a paper agreement that outlines the terms by which that piece of papers holds title on behalf of the beneficiary's named in that trust agreement. Of course, a piece of paper can not hold title to real property; therefore you appoint a Trustee (a person or entity) to hold title as Trustee of the trust. You then create a deed naming as Grantee that person or entity as Trustee of the Land Trust. In order to make  your life easier down the road you should also include the powers language found on 689.071/073.

First, you don't need to spend the money on individual LLC's. The land trust itself is considered its own individual entity so there is no need to spend the money on the beneficiary component also being individual entities. You could go ahead and get one LLC to act as beneficiary on these land trusts in order to keep your business income separate from your individual income for tax purposes, but that is a better question for your accountant that knows what the rest of your tax return looks like.

Yes, I would go ahead and send notice to your tenants that ownership has changed and that _________ (probably your LLC) is the new property manager.

A lease option contract consists of multiple agreements. First there is the lease. The buyer is nothing more than a glorified tenant until such time as he or she fulfills all obligations under the option. Hence the need the for an option agreement which states the terms that must be satisfied in order for buyer to purchase the property ( payments of $X every month for a term of Xmo/yrs with final purchase price being X). A notice of option may also be recorded in public records.  Disclosures are also key in proper construction of lease options. 

A subject to deal can be structured by using the ever popular FarBar contract and specifying the subject to structure of the deal in the financing options section. A FarBar can be found with a simple google search and/or the Florida realtors website. 

I have only seen one conventional lender work with land trusts, and even then it seemed to be solely based on the fact that the bank had a very good, long standing relationship with the client and even then they required a personal guarantee from the beneficiary. In Florida at least, a land trusts would not be a solution to your problem. 

Just thinking off the top of my head...A license to practice law is required to represent others in legal matters. If you find an attorney you like and have that attorney act as Trustee for your land trusts that attorney will not need to be licensed in every state since the attorney is a party to the transaction thus not representing a third party. 

@ Julie Shu and @Adrian Smude

I respectfully disagree with the statement that land trusts offer no asset protection. I see clients protecting their assets from judgments, liens, code violations, etc every single day. 

@Eddie T. This is nothing more than an ABI closing (Assignment of Beneficial Interest Closing), but there is a little more to it than just an assignment form. You need to pay documentary stamp taxes on the value of the assignment and any outstanding mortgages. You also need to know if there is a substantial difference between the original purchase price and new purchase price. If so, your new beneficiary could be under insured from a title perspective. If you don't get title insurance for the ABI closing it can all be accomplished (getting paid) with a simple buyer seller statement. 

Your new beneficiary is probably going to want to appoint a new trustee too. 

Lastly, don't forget to file your 1099's and 56A's with the IRS. 

We do these at my office ALL the time. It sounds like a lot, but once you do a few you will see that they are really easy.