All Forum Posts by: Laura Richards

You need to speak to an accountant regarding tax liability because the answer to which LLC to form will depend on your return as a whole.

If your wife just became a realtor she must hang her license under an existing brokerage first. She is not allowed to own her own company until she becomes a broker herself. I believe she must be an agent for three years then take her brokerage license test.

Also, FREC and ORA have legal hotlines for realtors to call and ask these questions for free.

You can sell the property via a Quit Claim Deed if the buyer doesn't want a title policy. You can file a Quiet Title using an attorney. I charge about $2K to give you an idea. A cheaper option is to use a company in CA that is owned by First American Title called Tax TItle Services. They will give a tax title certificate which you can then take a first american title company and get your buyer a title policy on the property. 

Thanks Matt Devincenzo. Nice to "see" you

There is ZERO difference tax wise between a Florida land trust and an LLC. Since a Land Trust is nothing more than a pass through entity, meaning all profits and losses will pass directly through to the beneficiary, you can appoint that LLC as the beneficiary of the land trust, get all the tax benefits of having an LLC and get all the other benefits of the Florida Land Trust.

Florida Land Trusts are a very powerful investment tool for both flips and buy and holds. 

REO's are not hard to close, just hard to win a contract because its a competitive market. A land trust will not make it easier or harder. It may, however, make your management of that property and resale easier. My experience is with Florida LT's. Not sure if VA offers a similar product (statute).

There are two main players in a LT. The TRUSTEE who holds title (remember a LT is just a legal piece of paper incapable of holding title). You need the trustee as the legal entity to hold title the land trust. Next is the BENEFICIARY who directs the Trustee what to do with the property held in the LT. As an example, when making an offer in the name of a LT , the buyer name would be "Investor LLC, as Trustee of the 123 Main Street Land Trusted dated October X, 2014".

The bene can be any one person, any one entity, or a combination. There is a 100% beneficial interest that can be divided up anyway you choose (50/50, 72/25, etc, but dont start dividing things up beyond a simple 50/50 until you get more familiar with LT's). 

Lastly, a LT is just a pass through entity meaning all profits and losses pass through to the bene's. 

Things you will be asked when making offers in the name of a LT and closing in the name of a LT are 1) for a copy of LT, 2) tax id for beneficiary (they will ask for trustee but bc this is a pass through entity as described above they are just mistaken and actually just need the bene's info). 

There a million and one uses for LT's in investing. You will be told they are illegal - not true. You will be told they are a waste of money and not all they are cracked up to be - spoken by people who don't know how to use them. You will be told only shady investors use them - there is always bad apple. 

Hope this helps. 

Thanks Everyone! 

Wayne Brooks, yes, some are what I call "tire kickers" and others are just newbies - everyone has to start somewhere, right? Others are just plain outlaws trying to bring their scandalous ways to investing. It's a little bit of everything. Regardless, I can say that in the 6 years I've been doing this, the recent bigger pockets stuff has been the most interesting. We shall see. 

My name is Hope Richards, I am a real estate attorney in Orlando, Florida that caters to real estate investors. Lately, I have had a few consults where clients come in wanting to discuss new topics, ideas, stats, etc found on Bigger Pockets. From an attorney perspective, I am joining Bigger Pockets to review that information. 

My husband and I are also real estate investors with a buy and hold portfolio and currently have a few flips on the market.