All Forum Posts by: Jerel Ehlert

Go to some of the networking meetings.  At the larger ones, title companies are vendors/sponsors and that's a good indicator that they are "investor friendly".  You can also get to know the people and ask questions.  RICH Club and Wealth Club are just a couple, but Google is your friend.

That's an increadibly broad set of questions.  Like asking a doctor "what happens to food after I swallow it?"

Investors spend weekend seminars discussing.  

Attorneys spend an entire semester in law school for the class.  In Texas, lawyers pay over $1000 for a set of two, 4", 3-ring binders for the "standard" set of documents and procedures.  And the really dedicated probate practitioners spend a few thousand each year for hours of continuing legal education.

Can you narrow that down a bit?

For the most part, @Bruce Lynn is right regarding the redemption periods.  It is set in the state statutes.

Necessary repairs can be reimbursed, so if there's a hole in the roof, for example, and you repair it, you will very likely get reimbursed if it goes to court.  However, if you replace a roof because you didn't like the color of the old one, that is less likely to get reimbursed.

If you rent out a property, it must comply with the property code and be habitable.  There is no "as-is" way to get around that requirement.  So a hole in the roof must be repaired before leasing out.  But any reasonable repairs that are necessary to be habitable will probably, also, be reimbursable.

Like Bruce said, a redemption is rare.

@Scott Smith is on the money about filing as a foreign entity for a suit.  Keep in mind an eviction is also a law suit.

To answer the post, since I'm responding anyway, is going to depend on the equity owner's appetite for risk.  For an investor that has a high tolerance, putting 50 houses in an entity may be fine for them.  For one with a nervous disposition, 1-3 houses per entity may be their limit.

When I was wholesaling, I used the TREC.  It's changed a bit, but still useful.  For those who want something thinner, as a lawyer I drafted a simpler earnest money contract.  You will also want an assignment of contract specifically paired to your EM contract.

Like other said, you will want to know your contracts.

I am only licensed in TX. 

Here, a lawyer is not necessary to represent others in an eviction suit at JP court.  Last session, the TX legislature enlarged that to include appeals to County Court.

Every state has FED (Forcible Entry and Detainer) statutes dealing with evictions.  In no state can a landlord evict a consumer outside the judicial process.  I don't know of any state that requires a lawyer to represent a natural person as landlord in an eviction.  Check the statutes in PA to see if you need a lawyer to represent a landlord.  

Generally, where a lawyer would be required to represent another, an entity would need a lawyer (as in, a manager couldn't represent an LLC). But if anyone can represent anyone else, a manager could appear for the LLC. In TX, because JP court doesn't have a record and the appeal is a do-over ("de novo" in legal-speak), and for economy, anyone can represent others.

I've been on both sides of contractor disputes.  To say that a contractor should never be spending their money is WRONG. That's why M&M liens are available.  Once the contractor takes off with $$, there is almost no way to get it back unless they have other assets.  But a lien on real property goes nowhere.  The liens are easy to file, but tricky to perfect.

SoL is short to send notices and liens, so see an attorney ASAP.

Anything more than a single-member or with a spouse, and you should discuss with an attorney.

When bought correctly ($0.70 on the dollar, less repairs) rehab/flip deals can absorb A LOT of things going wrong before loosing money. The caveat is that you must have bought correctly. Your calculated ARV must be accurate (get an appraisal). Repairs must be accurate (get inspection and/or multiple estimates [don't always go with the cheapest]).

Bad news: because it can absorb a lot of slop, it leads to sloppy business practices, which lead to sloppy business habits.  Be disciplined, and discipline yourself.  Always look for better, more efficient business practices.

Regarding TEXAS law...

Unless the property is free and clear, a sandwich LO with a consumer is prohibited.

@Cody L. the issue is when there are too many bad actors in the market taking advantage of consumers, then the government MUST intervene on their behalf.  I'll spare you the cases that made restricting executory contracts necessary.

btw, "freedom of contract" was debunked by the US Supreme Court holdings in the late 1800s to early 1900s.  You cannot contract for illegality; you cannot contract for confession of judgement; only in some instances can you contract away your rights.  This is about sophisticated investors taking advantage of unsophisticated buyers.  As I said above, not all investors were taking advantage of consumers, and not all consumers were unsophisticated, but enough of both made this necessary.

I have had to sue bad investors in federal court for violations of TX property law and Dodd-Frank/CFPB, as recently as last year.  I was called today by another buyer for a case against *the same bad actor*.  This time his acts are even more egregious.  If these keep coming up, Texas investors will get even more restrictions.

To sum up, investors invite government restrictions by failing to police themselves.