Recent Blog Posts
What is FIRPTA and when is it Applicable?
While we shy away from tax issues, they do intersect real estate law from time to time. One such intersection is FIRPTA – the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980. When does FIRPTA apply to a transaction? What is the responsibility of the Seller? The Buyer? The Realtor(s)? The Title Company? … Read More »
Payroll: Bi-Monthly vs. Bi-Weekly
Recently, I got into a debate about whether Bi-Monthly or Bi-Weekly payroll was better. Part of the debate was on the very definition of the terms and the remainder of the debate was which one was better for purposes of filing bankruptcy. On both issues, I believe bi-monthly is the better payroll schedule. If… Read More »
My Siblings Want to Buy My Share of the Family Home
This week’s blog comes from a question from another podcast listener: My father recently passed and left me and my two siblings each a 1/3 share of his house. His house has no mortgage on it and my siblings want to sell the house. Before the sale, they want to buy my 1/3 of… Read More »
Should I form an LLC or Corporation?
I’ve seen a recent trend amongst consultations of people who invest in real estate that they own in their name alone and this can be very dangerous from a liability perspective. To help these clients, I typically discuss at least 5 forms of owning a real estate investment business. There are a few more… Read More »
I’m Buying Investment Property! What do I do next?
The most common question I get from Real Estate Investors is “when do I need to hire you?” Typically, you hire me at the beginning to make sure everything runs smoothly, or you hire me after everything has hit the fan! To make sure things go smoothly, I’ve thought of some due diligence items… Read More »
I Can’t File Chapter 7 or Chapter 13!
It happens very rarely but, from time to time, we speak to a client that fails to qualify for Chapter 7 (liquidation) or Chapter 13 (reorganization). If they still want to file bankruptcy personally, what should they do? Chapter 11 reorganization. Wait! I thought Chapter 11 was for businesses? Not necessarily. Chapter 11 is… Read More »
Do I Have to Pay My Mortgage After a Divorce?
Recently, I spoke at Become A Better Agent, a seminar hosted by Insured Title Agency and Synergy Title Partners in Tampa Bay. One topic of my presentation was the identity of the proper party to sign and sell real estate, especially in a situation where the parties are divorced. Many times, the party that… Read More »
How Long to Satisfy a Paid Off Mortgage?
We have helped 3 different clients over the last week to eliminate mortgages and other liens from the public records. In each of the these situations, the loans were satisfied, but the lien holders (lenders / banks) failed to record a satisfaction or release. Of course, we didn’t know this until after we filed… Read More »
Tips for Negotiating with Creditors
I’ve helped hundreds of clients negotiate. I’ve negotiated residential and commercial real estate contracts, residential and commercial leases, Mediations, credit card debt, medical debt, student loan debt, secured debt, unsecured debt, deficiency obligations, pretty much every type of debt. I’ve negotiated court settlements and other agreements that involved something other than money. Over the… Read More »
What is the due date?
In reviewing contracts, court deadlines, and other time-driven factors, we get many questions related to how the time is calculated for purposes of a response or deadline. Typically, when counting days, day 1 is the day after the date listed (like we learned in math class). Therefore, if the “Effective Date” of a contract… Read More »
