BiggerPockets

There was a long thread about land trusts a while back ( I don't know where it is) but make sure a land trust is the right " entity" for you.

As far as I am concerned, land trusts are pointless and an LLC is all you need.

Also, I am not a lawyer, seek competent legal advice.

Yes, you can use land trusts in georgia. It is best to use a Virginia Land trust to hold title to your property in georgia.

randy

Yes, you can use land trusts in georgia. It is best to use a Virginia Land trust to hold title to your property in georgia.

The same guru nonsense is passed on about Nevada LLC's stating that you have tax savings and other benefits from placing property in other states into a Nevada LLC. That is simply not true!

Sorry guys but I know exactly of what I speak. I have been using Land Trusts for over 30 years (and yes, you can use a Virginia Land Trust in your state...except Lousianna). We use VA trust to hold title to our Illinois property with Delaware, etc. LLC's as beneficiaries. This is a very strong linkage that few ambulance chaisers will " take on." If you want to know more go to: [LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN]

randy

Biggerpro,

I appreciate what you have said.

My point was that there is a lot to learn about land trusts before making a judgment to use them or not. I would be glad to post and answer questions here because I know there is a lot of misinformation " out there" about land trusts and how to use them. I write a land trust blog and the only National Land Trust newsletter in the nation trying to clear the air about the use of LT's.

For this posting, let me just make clear that our advice is to use a separate LT for each of your properties (to insulate them from each other). Who or what will be the beneficiary is a book in itself but I will try to address that issue in later postings.

The concept of using " out-of-state" land trusts to hold title to property in YOUR state is mind boggling to the contingency fee lawyers (that initiate most friviolous lawsuits) and can save you a lot of money and aggrevation.

More on all this later. Any questinos out there?

Randy [/i]

This method of operation does exactly all of those points you mentioned and more. When you cross state lines (with multiple entites) you take legal issues from State court to Federal court. This is an entirely different ball game (requires different kinds of attorneys and more legal fees). It also makes tracking the entities and true owners/controllers much more difficult. I am not going to write a book of explanation here, but I have written two home study courses (basic and advanced) with an appendix and bibliography backing up my knowledge and experience.

randy

I was not asking for a book. Just a few simple answers to why a Virginia LT for our BP community. Many of the " gurus" proclaim the same items you mentioned and our attorney has said otherwise, so I was hoping for some clarification from you.

If you do not want to answer our questions, and only want to charge for them, that is your choice. If that is the case, please do not post statements in which you choose not to validify with evidence. Many of the BP members are newbie investors and the seasoned ones here tend to protect them from the guru nonsense so they are not taken advantage of.
Please keep in mind, I am not calling you a " guru" as I do not know you, simply making a general statement.

Nationwide,

Most attorneys do not have a clue when it comes to land trusts. They get no formal training in law school and there is not enough money in it to motivate them to learn. Consequently, because of their egos they just say, " don't use them." If they studied them for over 30 years like I have, they would realize the many varied benefits to the Illinois Type Land Trust. Actually, I have written a small article called " 32 Reasons to Use an Irrevocable Land Trust." It is free and i would be glad to post it here if it is ok with the websmater?

Bottom line: There are six states with land trust Statutes on the books. Virginia has (in my opinion) the best trust law of all six states (for several reasons relating to the administration of the trust...and therefore being able to use them in other states).

Randy

I have read Mark's book and find it interesting that he spends one whole chapter on why not to use a land trust. However, on the page 49 he says that land trusts are legal in only 3 states. This is not true and I can prove it with citations of the LT laws for each of six states. This made me suspect of the rest the chapter.

He also says on page 51 that the privacy aspects of LT's are a " myth." He gives an example of Arizona which requires disclosure of the beneficiary's name and address. In true lawyer lineal thinking it does not occur to him that all one has to do is make the beneficiary of the LT the Trustee of a Personal Property Trust and this becomes a non-issue.

On page 52 Mark talks about LT's not being good " asset protection" devices. On the surface this is true. LT's are primarily privacy tools, but when you combind LT's with other entites...you get a dynomite structure that is hard to break and expensive to even figure out. Mark has obviously not researched the benefits of multiple structures in multiple states and the benefits thereof.

It is my opinion that Mark is like a lot of attorneys...they confuse LT's with with other types of trusts (living trusts, personal property trusts, estate planning trusts, etc.

Randy

Please see article below for more reasons to use a Land Trust.

Randy


Advantages of Using a Revocable Land Trust

1. Avoids property being probated (out of court transfer upon death of beneficiary)
2. Ease of Transferability
3. Judgments do not attach to the property
4. No Partition (avoids spouse's "forced share" sale buyout upon divorce)
5. Easier management with multiple owners (multiple owners do not have to sign docs)
6. No costs upon transferring beneficiary
7. No registered agent needed
8. Legal and Equitable property interest in trustee's name
9. Income and Expense conduit, not a business with tax consequences
10. No tax return to file (pass thru entity)
11. Trustee has no personal liability
12. No annual fees like other entities, if trustee is an individual or friend
13. Estate planning - successor beneficiaries
14. Less expense in grantor creating trust over entity
15. Avoids the due on sale clause
16. Privacy of ownership - Helps Avoid Identity Theft of your name
17. Keep sales price private
18. Able to fracture interests of multiple owners w/o being partners
19. Ease of linkage to other asset protection entities
20. Non-judicial repossessions of real estate sold on installment contract
21. 1099 not required for transfers (personal property not subject to real estate regulations)
22. Ease of operating across state lines
23. Ability to insert poison pills
24. Lots of case law to support land trust law
25. Many attorneys do not study this section of the law - not profitable for them
26. No recordation of the Trust Agreement
27. To avoid "seasoning" problems (secondary market rules of ownership)
28. To save title insurance premiums (Trustee-insured-remains the same)
29. Good negotiating technique in the sale or purchase of property (Disney World used trusts to acquire land prior to construction to avoid price escalation)
30. To provide non-recourse financing
31. Lowering of real estate taxes (prevents re-assessment)
32. Avoids state regulations that apply to corporations and LLC's

As you can see, Land Trusts are a wonderful tool for you to hide your assets, avoid real estate tax increases, privatize your sales transactions, avoid probate and use for many other benefits. Now you have a basic understanding of why people use Land Trusts.

Are you working hard to acquire assets? You will spend a life time building your financial estate… spend a little time and money learning how to protect your net worth from the deadbeats and their contingency fee lawyers!

Randy Hughes