Attorney screw-up: home address on LLC settlement docs?

Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes

Hi everyone,

I need some advice. I set up through my attorney an LLC with a PO Box and street addressing. I did this many months in advance of closing on my first property, which took place on 9/30.

Yesterday I picked up all my closing documents from my attorney (the same one who set up my LLC), and my home address is on every document...HUD-1, Deed, Notice to Tenants, Loan Agreement, etc.

I am LIVID. On one hand, I probably should have spotted it while I was signing all these documents, but I sort of think that's the attorney's job, no? Having set up the LLC himself, and having observed me correcting the address with other parties (eg, insurance binder), this isn't a difficult thing that needs a hawk's eye. Pretty simple..here is my address.

What can I do? What would you do?

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Levi T.Pro Member

Rental Property Investor · Tucson AZ / Nice FR / Washington DC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

Chill, it's an easy fix, your blowing a gasket on something so small. Easily fixed in a few minutes, plus you really should read what you're signing, otherwise you will always have surprises if you don't, and mistakes will happen. By you. By others. By everyone. We are human. You can be livid and lose a lot more than just a few minutes of time, like real money, because people wont do deals with you if your known for being hot headed on every little issue and placing blame. Just recognize the mistake, and get it fixed without all the fuss. If people like you, they will run through walls for you.

Anyone who has done a number of deals will have something like this happen at closing. I have, and much more.

Best,

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
9y
you need to take responsibility if you signed docs that were incorrect then you probably did not read them thourough enough.
I go through this constantly also... as I do not get mail at my home address.. yet the state makes it mandatory to put your home address on your DL and these days closings companies many times want a copy of your DL>
Your attorney can fix this with the state no big deal... as to the other docs NO big deal... just contact lender if you have one and change address.. but the major one is to make sure your address on your LLC that is listed and registered with the state is the one you actually want to use.. end of the day this is YOUR responsibility...
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Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
Yes and I made that clear to my attorney who is acting with, well, power of attorney. I consider this his screw-up.
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
9y
reading this again... when you say loan agreement.. are you talking about a loan with a lender.. ???
could it be the lender will not make a loan to a LLC... ??? depends on the type of loan.. maybe that's the wrinkle... but end of the day like you said you signed the docs... so its presumed you read them carefully prior to signing
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Michael Healy
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Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
Yes it's a lender but they are lending to my LLC with a personal guarantee from me. And it's the wrong home address to boot, so it's not even the right wrong address.
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Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
And if any professional ever said to me, "well you signed it..." I would never use them again and would likely dissuade others from doing so.
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Steve Vaughan
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Consider yourself fortunate if the name of your entity is spelled correctly and if the dates were right. LOL
My 6th grader proofreads his homework better than what l I get back from an attorney. Check everything. It may be legal, but mistakes usually abound!
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
9y
@Steve Vaughan this is defiantly something that is far more common in attorney closing states than what we enjoy on the west coast were we are closing with title and escrow companies and .. normally dealing with your escrow officer who probably has 20 plus years experience etc etc.
I rarely if ever see scribner errors on my west coast docs.. on my east coast and attorney states I review like a hawk.. like you said.. they make all sorts of boo boos..
micheal now you better check the legal description on your deed and make sure that matchs.
Also the lender had to proof these and approve...
any way it can all be corrected.. and they should not charge you.
and your comment about well you signed it... and then don't want to take responsibility that will not hold up in front of a judge I can tell you that.. you signed it.. you suppose to read it... I learned that the hard way many moons ago.
But again I miss stuff.. usually a misspelling in one of my 12 companies LLC s that I buy in.. and then we have to do corrective deeds..
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James King
League City, TX · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 8 votes
9y
Privacy concerns? When I set up my llc I just used my home office address. Is this frowned upon?
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Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
James King well it depends but I want everything to be separate and went to the trouble of setting up a PO Box for that purpose and now my tenants have my home address and the public land records are showing my home address. Jay Hinrichs I know it wouldn't hold up in front of a judge I just mean between a professional and his client I believe my attorney need to own and fix this.
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Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
@Account Closed yes of course but I'm not sure what your point is.
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
9y
@Michael Healy I am sure your attorney will fix it.. as well as I am sure you will read your next set of closing docs very carefully... believe me I have made 100's of boo boos like this over the years.. but at the end of the day I have to own it.. I can't blame others.. its my business my money etc etc.
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1 Reply
Levi T.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Tucson AZ / Nice FR / Washington DC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Chill, it's an easy fix, your blowing a gasket on something so small. Easily fixed in a few minutes, plus you really should read what you're signing, otherwise you will always have surprises if you don't, and mistakes will happen. By you. By others. By everyone. We are human. You can be livid and lose a lot more than just a few minutes of time, like real money, because people wont do deals with you if your known for being hot headed on every little issue and placing blame. Just recognize the mistake, and get it fixed without all the fuss. If people like you, they will run through walls for you.

Anyone who has done a number of deals will have something like this happen at closing. I have, and much more.

Best,
5 Reply
Steve Vaughan
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @James King:

Privacy concerns? When I set up my llc I just used my home office address. Is this frowned upon?
Half the reason for my establishing entities is for a layer anonymity. I just have buy and hold commercial apt bldgs and a mgt co for myself, though. I like being unknown and have worked hard to be that way.
Could be different if your purpose is marketing-driven as to the name, but I'd be careful with how public my home address is in general.
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James King
League City, TX · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 8 votes
9y
The way I looked at it was if someone wanted to find me a little digging in the public record would still give them my address. They could easily look up the registered agent and have me. AFAIK the registered agent mustn't be a po box. So I decided to pocket the po box money.
If someone wanted to find someone else bad enough, they will.
That being said, if someone wants to break into my truck, they will even if the door is locked. But I always lock my door so it isn't as easy.
That being said, maybe I should change my llc to a po box.
1 Reply
Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
Thanks, Levi Thornton that's very sage advice. Do I want to be right or happy...
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Alice K.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 306 posts · 211 votes
9y
A thought on "privacy":
I was pondering long and hard about making an LLC. But, when push comes to shove, people can find where you live and get all your details.
It's not that difficult as I've done it myself for shady companies. Particularly some credit ones hiding behind layers of corporations.
Then again if I lived in NY, New York, I suppose I would also feel in danger doing any dealings (as a past country-bumpkin. Haha).

I think @Jay Hinrichs is right, it does very much sound like the lender.
@James King I also used my home address for the registered agent and my primary! I used to value privacy, but a person can merely google my name and get everything. Figure if the tenants were really going to come after us, it wouldn't be hard.

I just try my best to do them well as they are my clients and if they're not happy, I should be helping (within reason assuming the tenants are good).

Good luck!
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Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
Alice K. I don't disagree with anything you're saying. But I think the truck metaphor is apt. Just because I lock my truck doesn't mean someone won't steal it, but it'll make it harder and it's just good practice. By sending both my attorney and my lender notes with my LLC address and explicitly saying "please use this address in all documents and correspondence pertaining to this transaction," I thought I could safely assume I was "locking my truck." In this case the lock was defective! :-)
1 Reply
Mike Dymski
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
9y
Sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately, a lot of business is executed poorly (or driven by selfish interests) and the more you engage, the more you get exposed to it. My last HUD had errors in tax prorations, rent prorations and lender fees. I recommend getting HUDs and loan docs in advance of closing as the closing is a challenging stage to make corrections as everyone is sitting around waiting to get paid and to move on to the next appointment. Much of these errors and poor contract terms likely go unnoticed as people are unfamiliar with closings, the closings can be awkward and/or they trust the professionals to do their job. It gets even more challenging as you will begin to interact with other real estate service providers, where the barrier to entry in that service is even lower. Many part-time investors are accustomed to more professional work in their day jobs than what they experience in their REI ventures. Building a team of trustworthy service providers is one of the keys to scale or to achieving long-term success. Good luck. Sounds like there are ways identified above for damage control on this one.
1 Reply
Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
Mike Dymski I'm still struggling with the "well you signed it" reaction that's so pervasive here. It's like when a policeman shrugs and blames the victim of theft because they left the window open or something. I suppose if anything I've learned a valuable lesson. I have one more closing with this attorney and depending how he responds it may be the last.
1 Reply
Matthew Kreitzer
Attorney · Winchester, VA · Member since 2015 · 726 posts · 387 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Michael Healy:

Mike Dymski I'm still struggling with the "well you signed it" reaction that's so pervasive here. It's like when a policeman shrugs and blames the victim of theft because they left the window open or something.
I suppose if anything I've learned a valuable lesson. I have one more closing with this attorney and depending how he responds it may be the last.
It is a natural reaction, and a pet peeve of many attorneys. We churn through thousands of documents in a given month, and some times we may make mistakes. Sometimes, those mistakes are related to things our clients did not adequately inform us not to do. "What do you mean that the debt I never told you about was not referenced in the agreement" or "Why didn't you use this other address I never told you about." We rely on our clients to proofread our work, because factual errors are easy to make, and only the end user is going to spot them.
It is unfortunate this happened to you, but it is an easy fix. If you feel like you adequately conveyed this information to your attorney and not just mentioned it in a spurious, off the cuff moment, then consider hiring a new attorney who is more attentive to your case.
1 Reply
Mike Dymski
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Michael Healy:
Mike Dymski I'm still struggling with the "well you signed it" reaction that's so pervasive here. It's like when a policeman shrugs and blames the victim of theft because they left the window open or something.
I suppose if anything I've learned a valuable lesson. I have one more closing with this attorney and depending how he responds it may be the last.
Agreed, it's a tough crowd and we all should expect and receive proper service. I consider your expectations to be very reasonable. The service can get worse with other providers. Dealing with contractors is not only the worst part about REI for me, it's the worst aspect of my life. I am taking steps to improve it and to insulate me and my family from that aspect. Many of the respondents likely agree on the service side...they just focus on the side of the equation that can be controlled. It's an open forum and you will find members who you resonate with over time, some who you disagreed with early on and later find helpful, some who you can't stand, some where you find their feedback to be helpful in certain cases and other times find it to be awful and, most importantly, some game-changer nuggets or contacts that alter your investing. Hopefully, you received some decent advice and can fix the damage.
2 Reply
Nadine Delille
Wholesaler · NJ · Member since 2014 · 47 posts · 15 votes
9y
Hello @Michael Healy I am not sure if this was mentioned, but have you considered getting a registered agent so you don't to use your home address?
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Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
Thanks Nadine Delille yes my attorney who set up the LLC is the registered agent with his office address, which makes the whole thing that much more absurd. My home address has nothing to do with my LLC, was never listed as such. My attorney has billed me at the LLC address. I've sent explicit instructions via email to use this address. He's been copied on messages from me to other parties correcting the address. I cannot fathom why this happened. In fact, the LLC address appears nowhere in any of the closing documents.
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Percy N.
Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 904 votes
9y
@Michael Healy, it should be an easy fix with a follow-up letter/form from your attorney to the Recoder of Deeds.
While I also use my PO box address for entities, a person looking at the docs and signatures can easily determine your address if they wanted. Perhaps the bank did not want a PO box address?
@Jay Hinrichs, are you starting an East coast, West coast thing?? ;-)
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Michael Healy
OP
Investor · Great Barrington, MA · Member since 2015 · 153 posts · 39 votes
9y
@Percy N. yes that's why I set the PO Box up with street addressing, and forwarded both versions of the address to all the principals in the transaction.
Again, I'm under no delusion that someone couldn't find my home address if they really wanted, but that doesn't mean I need to lead with it on documents not pertaining to my individual place of residence, or send it around to my prospective tenants.
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