@Jay Hinrichs,A recorder lease will not hold up in court here in Texas if you are trying to cloud the title base on your lease.

Secondly, having a mechanic's lien on the property (should it come to that) will essentially cloud the title which will further complicate the selling process when a buyer runs a title search.

If I were to cloud title legally do you think I could claim the property after the CA 5 year guideline is up? 

My wife will tell you I live in the clouds so it is very helpful to get a dose of reality.

Not my area but I have also heard of Jim Shapiro and listened to several podcasts that he was either hosting or as a guest.

Again, drop the Trust, you're clouding the issue, make it as simple as you can, it's easier to explain to the buyer and if ever necessary, to a judge. 

Also look into attending the free Black Diamond networking events hosted by @Ann Bellamy I recommend that you get to know @Justin Silverio and @Shaun Reilly as they are very active here on BP and in the MA local REIA circuit.

The title company handles the title and if the title is clouded, they should be able to get it cleared.

My first interaction with this awesome community was tonight by attending a webinar hosted by @Brandon Turner This webinar was a great 1-hour crash course about finding, analyzing, and financing for the new investor.

If relations with the tenant are already bad, and the tenant has a host of other issues, I would just add this to the list and see it as something I am not willing to run around about.