All Forum Posts by: Jerel Ehlert

Immigration status is irrelevant to the legal analysis.

As the buyer, pop a Xanax and chill, because you probably won't be closing escrow any time soon, nor should you want to.

There's a legal theory called "equitable title" and another called "equitable mortgage" under Texas jurisprudence.  Without reading the pleadings, no way of telling which it is.  But when title is in dispute, no eviction will stand.  Even if JP grants, only a moron would not appeal, but that's just a distraction.  The real fight is in district court or county court over ownership.  IL defendant/seller has to win that fight first.

Chances are, throw $$ to the occupants in "cash for keys" will resolve this faster.  I'd require they all sign a disclaimer of interest (deed without warranty, NEVER NEVER NEVER use a QCD in Texas - they don't convey anything under our laws).  Full trial takes about 2-4 years, depending on what county you are in.

Risk is the probability that the return to you will be something other than what you bargained for.  

Rates of return are compensation to you (the investor) for taking on the risk.  (At least part of the rate is, the other part being what the market pays comes into play also.)

The "eye of the beholder" (sorry) comes into play by your ability to recognize risk, accurately assess the impact to your return, and counter or ameliorate the risk.

As a lawyer, Avvo.com is best for family law, consumer law, and personal injury - lots of one-and-done type cases.

Bit of advice: Don't ask for a discount.  We will drop you like a wet sock.  I didn't get an undergrad degree, then 3 years of law school, sit the bar exam, and a colonoscopy of a licensing application to have potential clients tell me my hourly rate is too high.  Fell free to find a lawyer who's rate is within your budget.

Flat rate is a lawyer pre-packaging time for routine activities where the amount of time is relatively well known.  All litigation is a crapshoot.  In Texas, we are prohibited from giving guaranties by our bar, but I would never even if it were not verboten.

Big law, nation-wide firms, have nation-wide overhead that every billable hour must contribute towards.  If you are budget-minded, that's not your place to be.  They tend to recruit from top law schools and they will make sure you know it (and pay for it).  Ask for a discount there and you will be escorted from the building.

I guess I'm a bit different that what Levi described, in that I draft and review syndications AND do LL/T law.  But then, I started as an investor in the trenches before law school.  Instead of focusing on an area of law, I focus on a type of client: real estate investors.

I'm pretty well convinced that if you are in real estate for more than a minute, at some point you WILL get involved in a law suit...even if you think you are playing by all the right rules.

Entities are governed by state law, so check there.  Not heard of any limits there.

The only limit on body count I can think of is for S-corp designation (governed by federal tax code).  You max at 100 shareholders before you are disqualified for that tax status.  https://www.investopedia.com/t...

People can look at real estate on a 3-D graph measured in time and money and risk.

With that in mind, low time (required) and low risk, you find the products you listed in your post: REITs and RE index funds.  A 3.6-4.8% return might be fine for what it offers.

With $270K, I can get an 8% pre-tax return with almost as little effort by turning it over to a few reputable HMLs secured by liens on real estate.  It could be liquid within 3-6 months in most cases.

If I wanted to lock it away for 5-7 years, I could 2x or 3x in a classic syndication....with a good operator.

Private lending is higher on time and slightly higher on risk, but 10-12% cash-on-cash is possible.  Annual returns depends entirely on you finding the next project to lend on (minimize down time between deals funded).

Flipping (to grow capital pool) is high on time and risk, moderately high on money.  Risk is modulated by you (for the most part - systemic risk is another bag of cats).  Some can do great (30-50% returns) and some go bust.

But really, a decent index fund of the broader stock market (Wilshire 5000) can do better than REITs and RE index funds you mentioned.  Their load must be HUGE.

The duty to return unused deposit doesn't start until the tenants vacate the property and give a forwarding address.  LL then has 30-days to list damage deducted from deposit and return the balance.

Texas Property Code Sec. 92.103

DON'T LISTEN TO ANYTHING YOU READ ON BP.

Your situation is way too specific to your particular facts.  You need your own CPA who has your financial records.  Tax law is like that - only the most generic (and unhelpful) advice will be correct for you.  Everything else is just a guess because of all the conditional rules and carveouts related to all the other parts of your tax return.

Travis County Clerk: http://tccsearch.org/

Travis County GIS maps: http://www.austintexas.gov/dep...

 Be INCREDIBLY careful about security cams.  Tenants have a right to privacy, including their back yard.  Besides, it smacks of sleaziness.