How Do I Get Property Out Of A Land Trust?
Hello, I am considering putting 2 properties I am in the process of buying into a land trust. I have 2 questions. How can I get a property out of a Land Trust?
And, what can I do if the Trustee decides they want to do something I (set up as the beneficiary) do not want them to do? (Such as sell the property, or dissolve the landTrust, etc.)[ Edited by gtrkev on Date 01/26/2004 ]
If the title is in the Trust, it takes a deed from the trust to sell or convey the RE.
Trusting the trustee...a tough and touchy situation, and this is why I personally like professional trustee services, like North American Loan Servicing's new trust service, down in CA. Tom Standen is the Pres. of the co. and a straighter shooter never lived.
A professional T'ee is going to heed your instructions, not going to steal your funds, do careful accounting, etc....unlike your family or friends, who are not pros & might really let you down hard.
John is right. I personally use myself as the trustee on things I am going to flip right away. Makes it easier.
Jeffrey Adam
[addsig]
If you use yourself as the trustee, who is the beneficiary?
What is the main benefit of the trust at that point, Can't people see that you are the trustee and that defeats being anonymous?
MYSELF. I am both. On houses that I keep for the long haul, then I make a family member my trustee.
To answer your question, the only way they
would see me as the trustee is if they had
a property address. If they simply ran my
name, it would not come up. If an attorney ran my name, they would find one junky house that is a rental that I own!
Jeffrey Adam
_________________
"The only place success comes before work
is in the dictionary."[ Edited by JeffreyAdam on Date 01/28/2004 ]
A land trust is a beneficiary directed trust. The Trustee can not act except at the direction (in writing) of the Beneficiaries. All beneficiaries must sign these directives. The one exception I can think of would be if one of the Beneficiaries specifically relinquished their voting rights via a limited power of attorney document.
Being a Trustee is a hugh responsibility and should be handled by those who know and accept trust responsibilities. Of course it goes without saying that a Trustee must be Trust(worthy).
To specifically answer your question, the the Trustee would deed the property to you, a seller, a cocker spaniel, etc at the direction of the beneficiaries.
Excuse my newbie-ness to this subject... but the main benefit of a Land Trust is to be anonymous.
Couldn't an attorney, or anyone for that matter, just pull a credit report on me (or my wife) and see that we have, say, a dozen mortgages.
Or, wouldn't the properties show up if they asked to see our tax returns in a pre-trial discovery?
I'm just not understanding how the Land Trust "hides" the property. I think it's pretty easy from someone to pull a credit report.
Is the purpose of the Trust just to hide the property(s) from the initial look so a potential lawsuit never starts?
I'd also like to hear if anyone has personally benefited from having his or her property titled in a Land Trust as an example.
Thanks for any help.
Kevin
[ Edited by gtrkev on Date 01/28/2004 ]
Kevin,
If you obtain new financing on all your deals in your own name, then yes, anyone can see how many mortgages you have just by going down to the courthouse and searching the records. No credit report necessary - it's public information.
BUT, if you buy your houses subject-to, then all the mortgages aren't in your name, they in the name of the seller you bought the house from. The trust just hides that fact that you own it.
FL is a mortgage state (as opposed to contract for deed state).
To get a mortgage, the property must be titled in my name, or an LLC owned by me.
Can "Subject To" be used in a state that uses Mortgages? If so, how is that done?
The only thing I have heard of around here like that is Seller financing. But even then I would have to get a mortage unless it was 100% seller financed. How does that "Subject To" work?
Kevin[ Edited by gtrkev on Date 01/29/2004 ]
Replying to Kevin:
"Couldn't an attorney, or anyone for that matter, just pull a credit report on me (or my wife) and see that we have, say, a dozen mortgages?"
Well, somebody might, without an authorization, try to pull your credit, but since this is a fed & state law violation, I'd first doubt any lawyer would do so...and 2d, that anybody else, lacking your SS # and written authorization, could get very far even trying it.