Land Trusts: Final Thoughts

Land Trusts:
Final Thoughts

We hope you have enjoyed this series on Land Trusts.  But alas; all good things must come to an end. We are wrapping up this series.  Then, we are going to take a couple of weeks off to compile this information into an ebook.  (Subscribe to this blog and/or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to be advised as to when this book is available.)  When we return, we'll be highlighting other  important Real Estate Law and Real Estate Investing subjects.  

Land Trusts: Summary of Advantages

Throughout this series, we have focused on all the advantages of putting properties into a Land Trust. To sum up, these advantages include:

1. Privacy: Using a Land Trust keeps property ownership private, and it keeps your name out of the public records.
2. Liability Protection: Using a Land Trust can help shield you from many frivolous lawsuits.
3. Protection from Judgements: A Land Trust helps protect your personal assets from being subject to a judgement.
4. Protection from Liens: IRS and other government judgements do NOT attach to property held in a Land Trust.
5. Avoiding Probate: Land Trusts help your assets pass DIRECTLY upon your death, rather than having to pass through probate.
6. Eases Transferability and Control: Property held in a Land Trust is much easier to sell, transfer, and manage.  This is especially true of "distressed properties," "under-water properties," and those in danger of foreclosure.
7. Minimizes Fees: Minimizes fees related to deed recording, transferring properties, title insurance, etc.
8. Eases Multiple Ownership: A Trust can have many beneficiaries.
9. Asset Protection: A Land Trust can help shield assets in case of ownership issues, such as bankruptcy or divorce.
10. Keeps Pricing Information Private:  A Land Trust helps protect your privacy regarding what individual parcels of land are worth.

Land Trusts: Summary of Concerns

1. You will need a Skilled Attorney: Few lawyers are experts when it comes to Land Trusts. You will need to find an attorney with skills and training in this area to receive the maximum benefits.
2. There are ongoing fees: A Land Trust will always have nominal ongoing fees associated with it.  After all, few Trustees are willing to do the job for free.
3. Privacy May Be Revealed with a Court Order: Although a Land Trust makes it more difficult to determine ownership, a Court can order ownership information be disclosed.
4. May Only Hold Real Property as Assets: Other forms of trusts allow multiple types of assets to be held by the trust.  A Land Trust, however, may ONLY hold real estate as assets.
5. Statutes Vary by State: Only a few States have their own, specific statutes regarding Land Trusts.  Their validity in other States relies on Case Law.  However, in those states that HAVE specific laws, you must ensure you follow them to the tee, or the Land Trust may not be valid.  Again, this is where engaging a skilled attorney is of supreme importance.

Land Trusts: Should I use One?

The choice to use a Land Trust is very individual.  No one can say definitively whether a Land Trust is the investment vehicle for you.  In writing this series, we hope we have equipped you with the tools and information you need to make this decision for yourself.  If you are leaning towards "yes," we suggest you gather your own information and documentation, and you meet with a skilled Land Trust Attorney in your area.  (If you live in the New York-Connecticut area, we'd be happy to meet with you to discuss your individual circumstances.  We offer free consultations for these purposes.)  

Again, we believe in Land Trusts.  We use them ourselves.  And as we branch out into property investments to enhance our own personal portfolio, we have begun using Land Trusts even more.  We want to invest in our own community, and we know that using Land Trusts are our most effective way of doing so.  And we live in a State that is using Land Trusts to revitalize neighborhoods and to provide affordable housing to our local workforce.  We have seen how effective Land Trusts can be, both on an individual and an organizational level.

Whether you already own real property, or there is property you have your eye on, we suggest you identify an attorney to help you now.  Having an attorney you know and trust will ease the process as you begin to accumulate property.  And you will need to interview this attorney to ensure s/he has the skills and knowledge you need.  Pick a few items from this series and use them as the basis for your interview questions.  If your prospective attorney cannot answer them to your satisfaction, move on to a lawyer who can.  

Final Thoughts

Again, we welcome your comments and feedback, whether you have been with us from the start or you are just finding this series now.  You can always find us through our website, hartelawoffice.com. We are also active on Facebook and Twitter.  We are also interested in what you would like to see in upcoming blog posts.  Do you have a burning question in the area of Real Estate Law?  Is there any topic you'd just like to learn a little more about?

Stay tuned for details on our Land Trusts e-book!

Land Trusts

Land Trusts:

Prologue

Happy New Year to all of our readers.  To start the New Year, we'd like to introduce you to a guest blogger: Laurel Nevans.  She has been a Home Owner for decades, and now, she is considering becoming an investor.  However, she had never explored the idea of Land Trusts until recently. Laurel is interested in building a rental portfolio in Florida, an area particularly ripe for real estate investment.  When we asked her if she'd ever considered investigating a Land Trust, she confessed she knew nothing about them.

Laurel has generously agreed to work with us to inform our readers. As she learns all about the ins and outs of Real Estate Trusts, she'd like to invite our readers along on the journey.  As we open 2016, we'll all learn about  the ins and outs of Land Trusts.  We will start by reviewing exactly what is a land trust.  From there, we will learn about when it might be beneficial to set up a land trust, as well as when a land trust might not be the best choice.  We will review the pros and cons of land trusts, as well as a lawyer’s role in developing one.  We'll discuss some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Land Trusts, and we'll answer reader's questions.  We'll also discuss whether Land Trusts are good investment vehicles, and what are the limitations.  When we are finished, we will compile all of the information into an easy to reference ebook, including document samples.

Of course, none of this should  be construed as legal advice.    You should always consult with an attorney in your jurisdiction before taking action as a result of the information given to you here.  The information that will be given to you here will help prepare you to meet with an attorney and make informed questions as well as give you a better idea of what an attorney can and cannot do for you.

We invite all of our readers to take this journey along with us.  To be notified when new articles are posted, please follow us.  You may subscribe to the blog using the subscription form in the right sidebar, or you may follow us on Facebook, G+ or Twitter to be notified when new chapters are posted.

We also invite all of our readers to submit questions to be answered in future posts. Please submit questions using the comment section of this article.  You may also tweet us your questions or comment on the associated Facebook post.

Here at the Law Offices of Heath D Harte, we get a lot of inquiries about Land Trusts.  Although a lot of people are knowledgeable about real estate in general, we find few are aware of the benefits of Land Trusts or the intricacies involved with setting up trusts.  Hence, we hope you will take this journey with us to fill the gaps in your knowledge.  Please invite your friends and colleagues to join us.