FYI, clouding the title works. I had a sweet deal in escrow one
time when the seller started acting funny. With some luck and a
little detective work, I found that he had just closed a deal on the
property with someone else. I talked to a very suprised escrow
officer that literally put me on hold to go pull the funding checks
(from the closing) out of her outgoing mailbox.
Why the title co. didn’t pick up my recorded memorandum is
unknown, they would have been liable. As it was, I really enjoyed
having the seller’s attorney hand me a check in exchange for
release of my recorded interest in the deal. He was not a happy
camper. It was a good day.
Clouding Title/William Bronchick - Posted by Paul R
Posted by Paul R on February 19, 2004 at 21:29:12:
I signed up for Pre-paid legal services and had my first consultation with a real estate attorney today. I asked what her thoughts were about clouding title vis a vis filing a memorandum of agreement with the Hall of Records.
She said, “Thats a sure way to get sued”. She went on to say that the only document that should be recorded should come from the title company.
I asked about it because William Bronchick mentioned this as a technique to protect a wholesaler (from a potential greedy retailer/agent who might steal a deal) in his book “Flipping Properties”.
Is this good advice? Does she need some additional training in REI or does she raise a valid point?
This kind of “knee jerk” advice is typical from lawyers without experience in investing.
It’s a sure whay to get sued if you are WRONG. If the seller renegs on a contract, you have a counterclaim much stronger than any claim for clouding title.
As a practical matter, the seller who renegs because they have a better offer would pay you to release your interest rather than spend a year litigating the issue.
Posted by kgrant on February 24, 2004 at 21:48:07:
got a quick one. I want to set up an LLC and was wondering if a law firm who does these daily on internet is ok. They file all papers, send your articles, seal, etc for 350 dollars. We are planning to build homes and wanted to know if this is ok. The firm has an attorney who will speak with you and be sure the items you need are included.
If anyone has any LLC experience (who you used to set it up, ) please let me know.
There really is no such thing as “online” LLC filings. You are
submitting information online to a service who collects the info
and files it. These services are generally no cheaper or fatser than
using a local attorney.
Posted by Brent_IL on February 20, 2004 at 15:26:50:
It?s funny, the lawyers that I know never say, “I don’t know.” What they say is, “We’ll get someone right on that to research the possibilities, and get we’ll get back to you. We’ll invoice you forever in convenient monthly payments.”
Re: Clouding Title/William Bronchick - Posted by newbe helper
Posted by newbe helper on February 20, 2004 at 04:17:18:
clouding would be wrong if you don’t have a deal with the person you’re clouding the title for… FOR EXAMPLE! i don’t like you and go and half your title clouded saying you signed a contract with me saying i’m going to sell your house.
I am not a lawyer just a common sense engineer who spells poorly.
Just Joking.