Real Estate Investing 101 and Beyond

Richards Law Firm has chosen the Ronald McDonald House of Central Florida as our 2016 Christmas Charity . Will you help us make the Holidays for these families a little easier? We will be collecting items from guests wish lists, monetary donations and unwrapped toys. Please help us make the holidays a little easier for these families. Monetary Donations: Did you know RMHCF asks guests to pay only $20 for a one night stay, but even that is burdensome considering the mounting legal bills these families face? We have set up a secure client portal to accept monetary donations via credit card or electronic check. To access the portal, go to www.mycase.com . Log in to the secure portal by using the username: richardslawfirmpa@gmail.com and password: Christmas2016. You will see a link to invoice #00111. Click the link and just key in the amount of your donation. That amount will be deducted from the goal you see on the invoice. Easy! Guest Wish Lists: * Indicates URG...

As promised, here are the cliff notes for a recent 4 th District Court of Appeals case that interpreted the Lis Pendens statute and how it applied to a foreclosure case. Warning: its super boring, dry, legal talk, but if you purchase foreclosure properties it is a MUST READ. The basic timeline for the facts of this case are as follows: -         Bank filed a Lis Pendens (LP)  against a property they were foreclosing. -      .  Sometime around September 2008 the bank obtained a final judgment -        Beginning in July of 2009 – October 2011 the Town recorded 7 liens against the property for various code violations. -        The house sold at auction in 2012. -         In 2013, James Ober, the winning bidder at foreclosure auction filed suit to quiet title, attempting to strike the Town liens against his property. The case trudged t...

  The State of Florida is famous for having one of the most generous homestead exemptions in the country. With that said, very few Floridians need their primary residence to be placed in a trust, but for those of us that just prefer to hold real estate in a land trust for other reasons and for those outside of Florida, this post will cover how to claim homestead exemption on your property that is in a trust.   Everyone from real estate agents, attorneys and even the property appraiser’s office have told me a property placed in a land trust is not entitled to homestead exemptions, but that is not true so don't take no for an answer. The Florida Attorney General wrote an opinion way back in 2008 discussing this very subject. “ … it is my opinion that section 689.071, Florida Statutes, would confer upon a beneficiary of a land trust a sufficient possessory interest to support a homestead tax exemption if the person otherwise qualifies by residence for the exemption in se...

Ya’ll know me, I like to get straight to the point and answer the question. Those of you wishing for a little more detail can read the entire article for my mundane analysis as to the why.  Warning: The “why” for this particular post is especially boring. Question: Does placing a property in a land trust prevent a lender from calling a loan due under the due on sale clause per Garn-St. Germain? Answer: No, the use of a land trust (as used by real estate investors) will not prevent a lender from calling a loan due when there is a change in title via a land trust. The key to this answer is the part where I said, “as used by real estate investors”. Investors like the idea of purchasing property “subject to” the loan due to the deal structure requiring little to no money down, no big down payment, no loan qualification, no financing costs, etc. I get it. The problem with this investment strategy is that once title is transferred without the loan being paid off ...

Wouldn't it be nice if you could ask a quick question, get input on a great idea that popped in your head or just make sure you aren't totally screwing something up without calling, leaving a voicemail or posting on some obscure forum hoping the person responding is some sort of authority on the subject? Well, if that question, idea or concern has anything to do with Land Trusts then you are in luck. I just created a Facebook group called Land Trusts For Investors to serve this purpose. I will moderate it for you guys and try to make sure the content posted by members stays accurate, up to date and  of course - legal. Anyone can join and post. The more comments, questions and ideas posted by you guys the more we will all benefit. I'm excited to see how this goes. Click HERE to join!

A few short weeks ago, the number one question from land trust clients was how to handle the filing of profits and losses for their properties held in land trusts- twas’ the season. At first, this would seem like a question requiring a long drawn out answer from a very sophisticated accountant; however, like most things simplified with the use of a land trust – it’s not. A land trust is a f ully revocable grantor trust, which is therefore considered a “pass-thru entity” or “disregarded entity ” under the Internal Revenue Code meaning all profits and/or losses pass through to the beneficiary . All the tax advantages of individual ownership may be retained when a land trust is properly used to hold title to real property. So…if you want profits and losses to pass through to your individual tax return make yourself the beneficiary; if C-Corporation tax consequences are desired, place the beneficial interest of the trust in a C-Corporation, etc. Simple.

In the mind of a real estate investor there are a million and one ways to structure a deal and get it to closing. I really and truly believe that statement. However, there are times when a real estate investor can be too smart for his or her own good. I’m talking about “creative financing”. GASP! When the term creative financing is thrown around it’s usually in the company of other terms like contracts for deeds, installment contracts, lease options, agreements for deeds, etc. Almost always, these terms are being considered because the person extending the credit doesn’t want to deal with the hassle and expense of foreclosure in the event of default.   Rightfully so, but there are times when you just have to bite the bullet, roll with the punches, take your punishment like a man… you know what I mean. I’m going to make this really easy and really clear. You cannot avoid foreclosure in Florida. That’s it. I don’t care what fancy name you give it or what secret document you...