All Forum Posts by: Jason Eliaser

I just signed up to do my first project management deal. We'll be subdividing and developing a handful of properties in a relatively urban area. I'm real excited! Veterans, any suggestions, pitfalls, tips, tricks, or hints?

Thanks in advance!

Bill:

You might be surprised, but I don't actually disagree with you. (Except for the point about what you "learn" in law school. You don't learn much about anything other than how to think like an attorney, and that's only if you're lucky.) Most investors don't need an attorney for much, but some do find it useful to have somebody who's seen deals go terribly, terribly wrong, and warn them about those risks.

But as I always tell my clients, it's my job to tell you about all the risks and worst-case scenarios, it's your job to ignore me when appropriate and make the business decisions and accept the risk. Many just find it useful to be as informed as possible about those risks.

And, of course, if one finds themselves on the wrong end of a lawsuit, then it's good to have already built a relationship with a knowledgeable attorney.

Darrell, great point. This is such a common complaint about attorneys. It's surprising to me that so many attorneys don't provide the common courtesy of a simple, quick response.

Investors out there, what are you looking for in a RE Attorney? What are must-haves and must-dos? What would turn you away? How did you find your current attorney (if you have one)? What does he or she do that you love, and what do you wish he or she did better?

Looking forward to your responses. Thanks!

Lake Elsinore became a popular commuter community for a short while, but the whole place was built up at the worst possible moment and all of it went under water. I had some dealings out there a couple of years ago and it was my understanding that there was a lot of vacancies and even more "shadow inventory" out there. I would take a close look and make sure that you are very confident the market is dramatically improving before investing.

By informing your insurance company as early as possible, you also preserve any argument you may have that the insurer should pay. You don't want them denying any future claim simply because you didn't inform them of the issue in a timely manner.

The last thing you want is a lawsuit from a tenant. Painful though it might be, unless you have a statement from the tenant saying "I have moved out," I would talk to a local landlord/tenant attorney and initiate legal eviction proceedings immediately. Better to regret wasting a couple of months with an eviction than to go in early and regret finding yourself at the wrong end of a tenant suit.

Hello. I am Jason Eliaser, San Diego Property Attorney. Two years ago I was an associate working for a large firm here in San Diego representing large financial institutions in all manner of property law disputes. Some of my prior clients were J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Bank of New York. I decided to start my own firm in an effort to provide clients with big firm legal skills but boutique firm attention and personalized service.

I won't launch into my firm's "pitch," but I'm looking to network with real estate professionals of all types, including real estate investors, individual property owners, landlords, small businesses, and mortgage lenders. Look forward to meeting you all!

Thank you.

Generally speaking, you will not be able to initiate a bank account under the LLC's name unless and until the LLC has been approved and certified by the California Secretary of State. It is understandable that none of the investors would want to cut a check to an individual prior to the LLC being created, so your options are to: a) have everybody wait until you receive the Certificate of Incorporation, open up the bank account as quickly as possible, and then cut the checks; or b) (as sagely suggested by the prior poster) have the checks made out to your attorney, and placed in the attorney's Client Trust Account, to be held in trust until the bank account has been established, at which time the attorney can write a check to the LLC.