Does anyone know where I can get a generic land trust contract? I am wanting to use this to transfer ownership of someones property into my name. Any ideas? What do you guys use when you do a short sale so that you have ownership interest?
A land trust contract consists of 2 documents, first is a
Warranty Deed To Trustee
http://www.abanet.org/rppt/meetings_cle/joint2004/Handouts/RPPT/RealPropertyDivision/TenancyInCommon/ExhibitA-DeedinTrust.pdf
and second is an
Assignment of Beneficial Interest in Land Trust
http://www.castlebank.com/pdfs/ASSIGN.pdf
Those are just quick generics i pulled off google so make sure to get them reviewed by a competent legal proffesional in your state that understands land trusts (some of them dont), and make sure you get some training on when and what to record when and where.
Good Luck
Mike
Generic documents are worse than useless. They can cause a legal situation that will cost you thousands to undo and possibly create an adverse tax situation. Keep in mind some states do not recognize the land trusts. I cannot emphasize the point enough that you should have any document reviewed by a local attorney famililar with your transaction.
Record a new deed with your name on it. I’m not sure why you think a land trust is needed.
I agree with BLL, generic documents can cause legal problems. I had to deal with some issues when I first got started because of generic docs. It’s best to have all of your documents reviewed by an attorney. Something like that will run you around $200 to $500 depending on who you use and how many documents you want them to review.
It is also true that not all documents are required or even accepted in all states. For example: Using land trusts and assigning beneficial interest is pretty much against the law in many Ohio cities / counties. Although it is technically legal within the state, It is considered a sign of fraud that is taught to be watched for. When the authorizes see this, they will often pay more attention to the situation looking for illegal or questionable aspects. (This information was told to me by a HUD Inspector General Special Agent.)
I would venture a guess that someone has been reading some outdated short sale literature. It’s ok, there’s not many books, courses, etc. on short sales that are up to date with the ins and outs of short sales in todays market. A vast majority of the short sale programs, books, etc. that you will find on the internet were written in the 80’s and 90’s. Here we are approaching 2010! Do you think some laws and practices may not be possible any longer? I have yet to see any updated versions of these items either.
Personally, since I was made to feel like a fool when I first got started, I have found other ways of ‘controlling’ the property. I simply use a Realtor and their listing agreement. A Realtors listing agreement is a legal document, that does hold up in court, between the homeowner and the licensed Realtor (or their broker if they are not one themselves). By having an agreement with the Realtor I maintain control of the property, limiting what the homeowner can do without my knowledge.
In addition to this, as long as you maintain positive communication with the homeowner you greatly lower your chances of them working against you. I accomplish this by utilizing my forum system on my website (much like these REIClub forums). I have the capability to create private hidden forums that only me, the Realtor, and the homeowner can see. This enables us to have clear and informative communication with all active parties.
Not really an accurate statement. The assignment of beneficial interest is not a part of the land trust itself. It is a document used for the action of taking ownership away from the homeowners rather than the traditional and more accepted way of transferring name on title. This why it is usually associated with fraud.
Compare it to an LLC that owns a building. The trust, is the LLC. The LLC owns the building. This means that whoever owns the LLC owns the building. The way land trusts are taught to be used in many of those publications is along the same line. The property is ‘owned by’ (in the) the land trust and the land trust is ‘owned by’ whoever has beneficial interest for the land trust. How many people do you think would willing sign over ownership of their “LLC” if they understood what it meant? So as you can see, this method is frowned upon because of the likelihood of the homeowner not understanding what it all means until after they have done it. I have seen homeowners file law suites with number of assorted charges against people who were only following the instructions of a short sale book that was wrote in 1989.
As BLL said, it can not be emphasized enough that you should seek legal council about legal documents. I did only after I got the egg on my face. I’m pretty sure BLL has, and well as the majority of the professionals who post here. If nothing else, it’s just a really good idea to cover your butt.