All Forum Posts by: Matthew Kreitzer

In some states, such as Virginia, that would complicate any collections efforts, depending on the terms of the previous lease and whether the proper assignments of interest were executed.

There is a caveat to unsollicited e-mails; if there is a pending and active case currently on retainer. There are reasons that lawyers will send these e-mails. Deadlines have a nasty tendency to creep up on lawyers, and issues need to be dated a month or two in advance if you want a timely resolution.

Lawyers send out these e-mails to make sure there is nothing that needs immediate attention on a case. It is actually required by some jurisdictions to engage in this kind of communication under our ethical rules, to make sure both ourself and our clients stay fully abrest of any developments in the overall case.

Granted, this does not apply to a situation in which there is not an active, retained case.

A real estate agent is good for two things;

A) Getting access to properties and leads,

B) Negotiating on your behalf if you are a busy person or prone to anxiety,

C) Getting access to industry standard forms (which may or may not be sufficient)

A real estate agent cannot offer legal advice or help you understand potential pitfalls of legal documents. If an agent is trying to do that, that agent is in trouble with the Virginia State Bar or the bar of whatever state you are dealing with.

Ultimately, as the previous posted stated, it depends on your level of sophistication and goals as to whether you need a real estate agent.

As a participating attorney in services like Rocket Lawyer, Legal Shield, and several EAP plans for employers, I must say that these programs can have benefits, but you have to know when to use them and when not to. As others have stated, these plans are good for very* basic questions, and are not good for drafting documents whole cloth.

A common example of how to use these programs is to ask simple things like "Which specific type of notice should I give" or "am I entitled to attorneys' fees."

It is not a forum to get a brand new lease or a bill of sale. For those services, you are better off reaching out to an attorney directly, as membership in these services often do not cover having an attorney draft these documents for you.

A good legal protection plan probably should incorporate both strategies; a local attorney and a membership in one of these services. That way you can get the best of both worlds; attorney you know for complicated matters, general advice to save yourself attorney expenses on *very* basic issues.

However, at the end of the day, you really should just consult with a lawyer.

There are several legal concerns with your proposed business model which should be reviewed by a local attorney before you begin leasing. These concerns include, but are not limited to;

A) Your LLC may be required by the local Board to obtain a brokerage license pursuant to Virginia Code §54.1-2106.1. The technical language of the code section generally can be read to require management LLCs to obtain brokerage licenses. Whether you are likely to be fined by your local enforcement agents should be discussed with a local attorney. You may potentially be exempt under other Virginia law, but an attorney would want to read your Articles of Organization before confirming, and would largely be based upon who has the controlling interest.

B) You may be opening yourself up to premises liability by not transfering the properties into the LLC. Generally speaking, home owners that rent property can be personally liable for certain types of harm that occur on rental properties. If such type of harm befell your clients, then you most certainly could face a personal injury lawsuit down the line.

C) In the event that your LLC is sued, there could be considerable questions about whether or not your LLC is created for a legitimate purpose given the level of intertwining that you are engaging in between yourself and the legal entity.

Based upon these concerns, you should absolutely consult local counsel before starting. Please keep in mind, this is not an exhaustive list of possible legal repercussions of your proposed business model, nor is it necessarily an accurate reflection of how strict your local enforcement agents are. Consult legal counsel.

Answer will largely depend on;

A) Language of the lease agreement,

B) The local laws related to enforceability of language in lease agreements.

No answer can be given without knowing both factors, as well as knowing how your local judges would rule on same. Therefore, no complete answer can be given from anyone other than a local, licensed attorney. Anything else would largely be guesswork. Hopefully your lawyer gets back to you soon.

 The costs are largely variable, and can range from as little as $150.00 to as much as $5,000.00. It depends on several factors including, but not limited to, the type of case you are dealing with, the complexity of the incorporation, the sophistication of opposing counsel, and several other factors.

Similarly, the cost could potentially be born by the attorney if there is a contingency agreement in place. That may be the case if this were a personal injury lawsuit because someone was injured while on the property. Alternatively, if this is a contract dispute, the cost would likely be born by the client. 

 Oh, I'm not saying that fraudulent conveyance would be a sure fire winning lawsuit, but all you need to do to get to the discovery stage is survive a Motion to Dismiss by presenting sufficient informaiton which, if true, would allow you to go forward. I wouldn't even use interrogatories to get the information, I would use Requests for Production of Documents and just snag all of your creation documents. That would tell me everything I needed to know, and there isn't anything opposing counsel could do to prevent it if I win on dispositive motions. (Which, yes, is a big if) The simple point I am trying to make is that the attorney he spoke with wasn't entirely wrong.

 Fraudulent conveyance would be the go to. Would be highly fact specific and would largely depend on the strength of the UFCA in the jurisdiction. But if I wanted to set aside a conveyance, that is what I would probably do. Then I would just get the info through discovery.

Every state is unique, and your situation is best discussed with a lawyer licensed to practice in the state of Texas. Before giving a complete answer, any lawyer would want to fully review the following information;

A) The promissory note

B) The warranty deed

C) The dissolution paperwork

D) Any corporate minutes that may have been prepared

Generally speaking, even if the transfer was done improperly you may, at a minimum still have an interest in the property. However, the method by which you would secure that interest may vary depending on the wording of any one of those issues.

Find a lawyer in your area.