Need Help & Virginia Attorney - Seller Financing / Land Contract

Need Help & Virginia Attorney - Seller Financing / Land Contract

Leesburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 42 posts · 9 votes

Hi BP People...

I am looking to sell some properties on installment financing provided to Buyers using Land Contracts (in a few select States).

If there is someone here on BP experienced with Land Contracts, that is willing to help me... 

When our company is financing the sale of a property on a land contract contingent on the Buyer making certain specific improvements to the property, what is the best way to document and handle this? What is the appropriate document and language to use? Should this go in the Land Contract, an Addendum, into a Promissory note, or ???

How do you make sure the improvements are made as agreed, etc.?

Any help with how that is handled would be a great help.

Also, I need an Attorney, preferably in Northern Virginia, who knows all about this stuff to review our documents and help keep us out of trouble. *We need much more than a title or closing Attorney... we need someone who works in the area of creative financing, seller provided financing, real estate investor contracts outside standard Realtor forms, compliance with relevant regulations, Buyer forfeiture, eviction, foreclosure, and the related issues.  

I would  really appreciate any help you guys could give me.

Thank you so much!

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Investor · Manassas, VA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 2 votes
6y

@Patti Robertson.....Thanks for the referral. I just contacted CLG for my Land Contract needs.....I'll definitely tell them you referred us. :)

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  • Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    Robert,

    Interesting project you have going on. 

    My wife is a real estate attorney at a top 200 firm with tons of experience with these type of deals. I would suggest giving her a call and she will either be able to help or direct you to the correct person.

    You are 100% correct in wanting more than a closing attorney, I know from experience these type of deals can get very complicated and you really want someone that does them day in and day out. 

    She is at Leclair Ryan and her contact info is on her firm Bio page. I have forwarded this article to her and told her to possibly expect your call. 

    https://www.leclairryan.com/annie-l-stephens-malo

  • Patti RobertsonBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    @Robert Slatkin - Are you familiar with Dodd Frank?  Be careful you aren't violating the law.  You can't do more than three seller financed deals per year, and can't do more than one unless you meet certain criteria.  The article below is a good overview.  

    I do some seller financing, both to buy and sell.  Just last month I had one of my buyers refi out of my note. He purchased the home in 2012 and didn't have a balloon, but just wanted to take advantage of a lower interest rate.  First time that's ever happened and I was thrilled for both him and me! In the same month I also too bank a house that a buyer defaulted on a seller financed note.  I use L.T. Caplan, an attorney in Virginia Beach, to do my notes and closings. He does my foreclosures and collections too.

    You are correct to want to get the paperwork right.  One thing we do is have the seller sign a deed in lieu at the time of purchase that allows us to avoid the expense of a full foreclosure if the seller defaults.    L.T. Can help you with all that and he doesn't charge an arm and a leg. 

    https://www.jandjlegal.com/caution-beware-dodd-frank-dos-donts-seller-financing/

  • Leesburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 42 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Chris Malo  Thank you for your response.  I am familiar with Leclair Ryan, and they are a top Law Firm. I will get in touch with your wife by early next week. Thank you again!

  • Leesburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 42 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Patti Robertson  Thank you so much for your reply and for your referral!

    I am quite familiar with Dodd - Frank, The Safe Act, and several other regulatory and compliance issues, so it would be great to work with an Attorney who really knows their stuff.

    Have you used a deed in lieu in Virginia (or any other States) to successfully avoid going through a foreclosure process?  My understanding is that Judges can, and do set these aside, and insist on a full foreclosure process. I'm just wondering about your experience.

    Thank you again for the referral. I really appreciate it.

  • Patti RobertsonBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    I just took a house back last month using deed in lieu.  Easy peasy.  I've also had it not work though.  Little different scenarios, but one time I had a junky mother get a $280K judgment on her son who I had given a first position loan to.  The judgment obviously happened after the loan or we would have found it when we did the title search.  We did have a signed deed in lieu included with his loan paperwork, but we had to foreclose in order to wipe out the lien.  She did an emergency injunction the morning of our foreclosure, saying that the guy I loaned the money to illegally used trust fund money that she had a right to to purchase the house, and I was a aware of it and party to the fraud.  I had never met the guy before he approached me to buy his house and she never filed a lis pendens to warn people of the pending litigation. Luckily I had purchased lenders title insurance and the title company hired a big name lawyer to handle our case. Of course we won, but had to start foreclosure proceedings all over and spend the requried $1700 in advertising a second time.  

  • Patti RobertsonBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    BTW - LT Caplan handled both of the above scenarios for us.

  • Leesburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 42 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Patti Robertson  Thank you again for your responses and the information. Very helpful....

    Could you PM me LT Caplan's email address,... or better yet, why don't we connect here on BP. Maybe we can do some work together.

    Thank you!

  • Investor · Manassas, VA · Member since 2015 · 13 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    @Patti Robertson.....Thanks for the referral. I just contacted CLG for my Land Contract needs.....I'll definitely tell them you referred us. :)

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