All Forum Posts by: Tony H.

Brandon Diaz thanks for the response! Your answers were very helpful. It's good to have a general idea of my options, though I will definitely take your advice to contact an attorney and educate myself further.

Hello all!

After an hour or so checking the forums, I was unable to find a clear answer, so I thought it best to just ask.

I'm looking at a multi-family property currently held by a Florida land trust. There is no mortgage, and the owner is willing to seller finance. My questions regard purchasing the beneficial interest in the trust. It is hard to know really what is legal based on what some gurus say.

1. Given that the only property in the trust is this one, would purchasing the beneficial interest in the trust keep the transaction private, thereby avoiding a certain increase in property tax? The property is currently assessed by the county for less than a third of the asking price, so I am anticipating taxes to at least double on a traditional sale. Is this illegal?

2. If the property is listed with a broker, is it still possible to purchase the beneficial interest in the trust? As in, would they still be entitled to a commission on the sale?

3. As an alternative method, would it be an option to have the current trust transfer the property to a newly formed trust with the same beneficiary listed, then complete an assignment of beneficial interest closing on the new trust? For example, if the current trust holds more than this property.

4. If this is all possible, how would I ensure the title is clear if there is not actually a transfer of the title out of the trust? Would I still have a title company involved in the transaction?

5. Somewhat related: If the new trust beneficiary assigned is an LLC owned by me, can it be an out-of-state LLC since the beneficial interest is personal property? Does the LLC need to be registered as a foreign LLC in Florida? For example, could a Wyoming LLC not registered as a foreign LLC in Florida be the beneficiary since it does not actually hold the real property?

I understand these are questions best asked to an attorney. I plan to consult one here shortly, though I wanted to pose these questions to the community to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

Thanks!

Thanks @Jeffrey H.! I'll look into that to see what the regulations are.

That's very reasonable. I looked at the numbers again, and it would only be adding an extra $7 per lot/mo to bill back trash, so it would not be a huge savings. Likely it would lead to more work than is necessary, as well as a negative reaction from tenants. The water is the big culprit in this park. 

Very good point, thanks for the advice @Adam Johnson! In the grand scheme of things, the sewer cost is minor compared to the other expenses that could be trimmed. The rents are about $75-100 below market, so there is a lot of room there as well. The park is also paying for trash, so if that and water were billed back to the tenants, it would only be about $25-30 extra a month for them. The other larger park in the area charges $200 more than this one currently for lot rent, though it includes utilities.

I'm looking at a mobile home park that has city water and a sewage lagoon. The park is currently paying for water, so it looks like it could save several thousand a year by submetering, though I had a question about billing tenants when they are on private sewer. From the park's P&L, the cost for maintenance of the lagoon is around $2400 / year, plus electricity to the pumps, etc. (includes testing, chemicals). Is it possible (or legal) to bill that cost back to the tenants, and if so, how would I go about doing that? Would it just be (cost / lots) / 12? Thanks for the help!

Will definitely check them out Mark Nolan ! Also looking forward to getting connected with a meet up once I'm in town Isaac Hobbs .

Hello all!

I'm Tony, originally from Georgia, now living in Orlando, though soon to be moving to Tacoma, WA for work. I stumbled upon BP about a month ago, and I have to say it has drastically changed my thoughts of investing for the future. Previously, I had planned to grind away at my job and stick as much money as possible into my brokerage accounts, though now I've found a new use for those hard-earned dollars!

I have no previous experience with REI, though I am excited about getting into multifamily buy-and-hold investing. I move to the Tacoma / Olympia area in June, though I have already set a goal of buying my first duplex or quad by the end of the year. I will be doing medical training (I'm an Army doctor) for the next three years, and that time will be pretty demanding (60-80 hour weeks) in addition to having a wife and two kids. Still, I hope to purchase at least one property a year over the next three years, with a goal of getting into apartment investing after I'm done with training.

Ultimately, I would like to be able to replace my wages in the next 15 or so years with passive income from apartment investing so that I can just work for the joy of helping others, instead of worrying about a paycheck.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to meeting a lot of great people here!