http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/Landtrust Blogen-usSun, 28 Feb 2010 09:32:00 EST http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=64 Holders of the Power of Direction means the person(s) or entities having the authority to direct the Trustee to convey, execute a mortgage, distribute proceeds from a sale or refinance and execute documents incidental to the execution of a land trust. Randy Hughes http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=64 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=65 There are many ways in which a person or business can choose to organize his/her/its affairs. A person can be known, and hold his/her assets as an individual. When collective ownership and activities are envisioned, individuals can go one step further and form a joint venture, partnership or association. Or they can elect to use a surrogate legal entitey such as a corporation or a trust which will represent their interests in operation of a business and/or to hold assets. Each of these choices bears a slightly different fruit in the form of tax advantages, liability protection, estate building and planning, and privacy.... And each of them has its own range of vulnerabilities and disadvantages. Randy Hughes http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=65 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=63 DO YOU REALLY NEED TO GIVE OUT COPIES OF YOUR TRUST AGREEMENT? NO! You do not! Don't let attorneys, title companies or lenders fool you. There is no law that says you have to give someone your trust agreement. However, if you want to do business with someone or an entity that requires proof of your land trust agreement, offer them a Trust Certification. This form (provided in our Land Trusts Made Simple home study courses) proves who the trustee, beneficiary and holder of the power of direction are (without exposing the entire trust agreement). Randy Hughes http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=63 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=62 I am always amazed at why celebrities do not use land trusts to hold title to their real estate (to protect their anonymity). Currently i am in Florida speaking to a group of investors. Someone told me that Graeme Edge (the drummer for the Moody Blues band) owned property in the area. So, i got on my trusty lap top, found the county website via a google search, entered Graeme's name and up popped his property address and a COMPLETE description of the property. The listing showed how much he paid for the house, the real estate taxes, how many bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. Can you imagine having all of this information at the public's access? What if one of his more crazy fans decided to pay him a visit? All the fan would have to do is click directions and google will gladly provide directions from the fan's house to Graeme's Florida residence. I guess the moral of this story is that it does not matter how much money or fame you have...it still does not mean you are smart when it comes to owning real estate. Randy Hughes http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=62 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=61 We are asked a lot Who should be my Trustee? In our Land Trusts Made Simple home study course we have an entire chapter on answering this question. But, for this posting, let us cover the basics. You have a choice to make, either your Trustee will be an individual or an entity. You definitely DO NOT want to be the Trustee of your own land trust. This is stupid on many levels. If you chose an individual your Trustee could be a friend, relative, attorney or anyone else. Obviously, you want your Trustee to be trustworthy, reliable, accessible, dependable and inexpensive. Just remember, if you are setting up a land trust the Trustee must be a resident of the state in which the trust is citus. In other words, if you are setting up a Florida land trust then you need a Florida Trustee. If you chose an entity to be your Trustee it could be a title company, independent trustee company, corporation, LLC or the Trustee of another trust. The advantages of using institutional Trustees are; typically more experienced than miscelleous individuals, bonded and insured (in case the make a mistake), regulated by state agencies and immortal (they will not die on you). However, the disadvantages to using an institution include; costs, (fees for everything they do), inaccessability (they have set office hours that do not include weekends and evenings) and they are easy to locate (you may not want your Trustee found so easily). So, as you can see, deciding who will be your Trustee is not an easy question to answer. Think it thru and make a wise decision! Randy Hughes http://www.realestateforprofit.com/blog/comments.aspx?b=61 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST