Real Estate Investing 101 and Beyond

I recently jumped back into the eviction arena after taking a break from all litigation in order to start my family. I was very hesitant to do so because the last time I filed an eviction in Central Florida it was a very tenant friendly environment where landlords were villainized, tenants’ requirements under the statute were completely ignored and judges threatened attorneys and property managers with contempt of court. It had become an area of practice where my law firm was losing money because tenants knew they could file any old thing and drag out an eviction if there were willing to show up for hearings. When the new landlord tenant statute changed I read it over to compare the old with the new and was totally surprised at the changes. I blogged about some of these changes in an earlier post which you can see here http://richardslawfirm.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-landlord-tenant-statute-seriously.html . Even with the landlord friendly changes I was still hesitant, but one of ...

I am the biggest advocate for land trusts you will ever meet. I have successfully used them in so many scenarios that have made deals, saved deals and killed deals (on purpose) that there is no way anyone is going to successfully argue with me that land trusts are not one of the best tools available for real estate investors. Hands Down. With that said, anyone that knows me will, I hope, say that I am a pretty straight shooter. So, today, I am going to admit that there are two sides to every coin and will discuss a few of the negatives. Negative #1: Hazard insurance is more expensive when property is held in a land trust. Some clients tell me the price difference was enough to steer them away from land trusts completely while others have said it wasn’t that big of an issue. I believe it all depends on your agent. Like everyone else on your team, make sure your insurance agent is investor friendly. Negative #2: Some counties will require that an attorney file an eviction o...