The benefits of Land Trusts

Joe Seagle is a is an attorney based in South Florida. He focuses on providing services that help real estate investors purchase, protect and pass on assets. He is going to discuss Land Trusts…how they are work…why they are better in many instances than LLCs and other forms of ownership of real estate.

Key Discussion Points

[01:22] Introduction by Eric & Steven

[08:25] About our guest: Joe Seagle

[12:47] Advantages of having a land trust vs a LLC? (asset protection, etc)

[20:23] Money Lending

[25:56] Can you have a land trust without having any property in it yet (like is required for an LLC)?

[27:58] How might a land trust fit into estate planning?

[30:51] Hiding the purchase price

[33:35] If a property is already owned, is it too late to turn it into a land trust?

[37:03] Buying properties subject to the mortgage

[46:01] How can people reach you?

[46:36] Closing comments by Eric & Steven

About our Guest: Joe Seagle

Joe_Seagle Joe Seagle is a legal GPS for the real estate and hospitality industry. His firm works with clients helping them to discover where they are, where they want to be and how to get there legally. The firm does this by assisting clients with the purchasing, protecting and passing on of assets vital to financial independence.

Under one roof, Joe has assembled a law firm and a land trust company that can act as a central source of information and service for clients in pursuing their goals.

The firm’s representation is concentrated on real estate investors, developers, brokers, property managers, hoteliers, restauranters, private lenders, and for their needs regarding land trusts, private lending and equity and entity formation.

Joe has been practicing law since 1996. He has been licensed in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and the District of Columbia. He is also a licensed Florida title insurance agent and a real estate broker. His company, My Land Trustee, holds title over 2000 Florida properties and trusts to maintain owners’ anonymity.

GUEST CONTACT INFO

Website: mylandtrustee.com

Phone: 833-4FL-TRUST

Land Trusts

In this episode we discuss land trusts with Mac McWhirter, executive director of WorldWide Trustee Services LLC. And we explore the many advantages land trusts have to offer. Some of the main advantages are privacy of ownership (anonymity) and the possible avoidance of a probate. A land trust can also help protect against judgments and liens, facilitate estate planning, prevent land partition, and ease real estate title transfer. And Florida is one of the best states to hold title in a land trust!

Mac also discusses some potential disadvantages of land trusts such as the false belief that the trust protects property owners from all liability. The other key thing to realize is that, even though there is anonymity for the property owner, a court can order full disclosure of property owners for certain civil and criminal complaints.

Key Discussion Points

[07:52] How did you get into land trusts?

[08:51] What problems does a land trust solve?

[10:26] Does a land trust work like an LLC?

[11:49] Can somebody still file a lien against a property owned by a land trust?

[16:23] What are some of the downsides to land trusts?

[17:28] What are the tax consequences of a land trust?

[19:10] If something happens to the land trust owner, how will the property continue to get transacted properly?

[20:22] What are the costs for an investor compared to an LLC?

[21:47] What are the typical land trust fees?

[22:36] What are the typical land trust fees?

[23:45] Is Florida a good state to hold title in a land trust?

[24:43] Does a land trust have to be a single entity beneficiary or can it be a partnership?

[29:01] Closing remarks by Eric and Steven

About Our Guest

Mac McWhirter is the executive director of WorldWide Trustee Services LLC based in Tampa, Florida. Mac was previously a real estate investor buying, rehabbing, and then selling real estate. In 2008 he started WorldWide Trustee Services in order to respond to a need for land trust services by investors.