All Forum Posts by: Laura Richards

With no intentions of getting into any sort of conflict or heated discussion.. there is  a lot of misinformation being tossed around in this thread and some of it involves coaching people on  how to commit fraud. I am all for creative real estate investing, but in my humble opinion some of the advice here is crossing the line. 

Even though the assignment of beneficial interest is a private matter that is not recorded in public record, representing one thing to a bank while having the intention of actually doing another is misrepresentation at best. 

Also, the application of St. Germain to these types of investments is one that falls within a very narrow window that should not be represented in such broad terms. 

I agree with everyone here that Mark Warda's book on Land Trust is the best. It's the one I read years ago when I wanted to start learning about them, but it is only a basic overview. The application being discussed here is more advanced. 

Please do your own research before following anyone blindly and if possible confirm with your attorney before pursuing a particular investment strategy. 

@ Chris 

@Chris Littell the land trust does not get you around the due on sale clause you are referencing. I wrote a blog post about this very topic and there was some discussion about it on the Facebook group Land Trusts for Investors that you should also read.

The post was the most recent entry to the blog so if you just go to richardslawfirm.blogspot.com you will see it. 

@Bhekizwe M. a land trust is a pass through entity which means all profits and losses pass through to the beneficiary. If you want the tax benefits of an LLC you should make the LLC the benenficiary. If you want the profits and losses to pass through to your personal tax return just make yourself the bene.

The Land Trust For Investors Group on Facebook has a blog article posted to the feed about this very topic 

 It's also on the Richards Law Firm blog www.richardslawfirm.blogspot.com

I have heard of investors using land trusts to get around due on sale clauses and posted a blog article about it on the Facebook group Land Trusts for Investors. There was a little back and forth with somoene who does quite a few of these. You all might find it useful in the discussion. 

@Ryan Beacher there is a group on Facebook called Land Trust For Investors that you may find helpful. There is also a blog series, I think I posted it on bigger pockets, that takes you through alot of questions I get from land trust clients. If you can't find it on bigger pockets you can find on www.richardlawfirm.blogspot.com

You can transfer after the fact via Deed from currently named buyer in the contract to the land trust but there are a few things to remember: 

1. if you deed to a land trust later you also need to change the name of insured for your hazard insurance. 

2. Depending on the underwriter of your title insurance policy, a change in the titled owner if different from the name of the insured on your title policy may void title coverage. Check with the closing agent.

3. Yes, there could be a presumption that the current owner (you or your LLC) just deeded it to a land trust for which you are also the beneficiary, but if done correctly just as strong of a presumption could be made that you or your LLC deeded to a land trust for which a completely separate third party is bene. There is no way to know who the bene of that land trust is -the third party could be a joint venture partner of yours, a private money lender, your spouse who wants a divorce and has demanded the house while working out the particulars - this list could go on and on... point being, presumptions don't do anyone much good and if the transfer is done correctly you will be fine.

@Account Closed Yes, with the most recent updates to the land trust statute you can use that structure. 

I just sent an email thanking her for letting me know and told her I would relay the information to my client. 

I then asked her to have her client check the box I found on the contract for seller rejection, sign and send back to me for my file. I also asked for her brokers license number just for info purposes. 

@Jeff Copeland and @Jonna Weber Thank you for your responses. I totally get losing out on a deal, but I have a hard time letting it go when it seems underhanded. 

Just as an FYI- Line 586 of the FARBAR As- IS has a little box for seller to check and sign if offer was rejected. LOVE FAR BAR's! (Amazing what happens when you carefully read an entire document) 

I have a strong suspicion that a sellers agent has lied about submitting my clients offer to her client due to the fact that my client was not represented by a agent and wouldn't agree to let this agent represent client on the buyers side too. Before I got involved, the sellers agent went so far as to tell my client that it is illegal to represent yourself in a real estate transaction. Due to that unethical behavior, animosity and tone of correspondence I read between the two (not by my client) I would like some way to confirm that the offer was actually submitted to seller.  

I could certainly create a document that I want the seller to sign evidencing the offer was actually submitted and rejected, but I am wondering if that is a normal course of action or is it something you just live with and move on? Is there a standard document or course of action agents use in this scenario - other than reporting her to licensing boards?