Hey land investors - what are some of the biggest LEGAL questions you have?
What do you find most confusing about this business? What do you hear the most conflicting advice about? Is there anything that you need a clear answer on?
Leave a reply below and let us know! We're interviewing a prominent real estate attorney on the podcast soon and we're going to grill him on as many of these questions as we can.
@retipsterseth There is one question that I have researched, discussed on this forum, as well as talked with my attorney about: Which state to establish your LLC in if you are going to be living in one state and primarily working in another two or three. I have received so much conflicting information on this I really don't know what the best approach is.
@retipsterseth, what are the 3 most common legal disputes / law suites in the land space and how can we best avoid them.
Also, I've considered purchasing Tax Auction lots and/or Trustee Lots, but the Quiet Title Action process has scared me away. In the area I have been working, the county does not warrant the title. I just worry about getting into a dispute with a previous owner or stakeholder on the property and it costing me more than what it is worth in legal fees. Are their alternative options (cheaper and faster) for clearing the title on these properties? How often does a quiet title action suit not go in favor of the buyer? What other risks are associated with purchasing lots with a treasures deed, trustee deed, etc.
@tylerd said:
I've considered purchasing Tax Auction lots and/or Trustee Lots, but the Quiet Title Action process has scared me away. In the area I have been working, the county does not warrant the title. I just worry about getting into a dispute with a previous owner or stakeholder on the property and it costing me more than what it is worth in legal fees. Are their alternative options (cheaper and faster) for clearing the title on these properties? How often does a quiet title action suit not go in favor of the buyer? What other risks are associated with purchasing lots with a treasures deed, trustee deed, etc.
Good questions. In every county I've ever encountered, the county does not warrant the title (this is how tax deeds work, and it's why title insurance companies won't insure against them). The whole purpose of a quiet title action is to ensure you don't get into a dispute with a previous owner because their interest will be extinguished after the court has gone through this process... so if you do pay for this and go through those motions, any previous owners should be wiped out after that.
In terms of a quiet title action not going in favor of the new owner, that would only happen if a previous owner speaks up and challenges the action as it's happening. If they don't, then they wouldn't have any claim to the property in the future.
Disclaimer: I'm not an attorney, so don't take any of this as legal advice. However, I have talked with several attorneys about how these work, and I'm pretty familiar with the ins and outs of them... so you can take that for what it's worth.
@retipsterseth
That's a great idea, Seth!
I'd be very interested in getting reliable advice on where it is not allowed to mail (e.g., non-solicitation states).
Also: How can you make sure that you can always "back out" of a purchase agreement until closing?
Can you be held liable for environmental problems (contamination etc.) if you are the owner but haven't caused the contamination yourself (maybe it was already on the property but you didn't know it)?
When is it illegal to assign ("wholesale") a property? Are there specific states in which you need to be a real estate agent to assign properties?