Posted by Kathaleen on April 02, 2003 at 14:41:17:
FYI: I am an attorney in Florida. If people want me to review their documents and make sure that they comply with the laws, I charge them at least twice as much as I would if I just prepared the documents.
Why? Because I already put a great deal of time and effort into my documents and I know (and more importantly, understand) what they say. If I have to sit down and review someone else’s documents, then I have to stop and analyze what those documents mean when all of the documents are reviewed as part of one transaction. Reading garbage drafted by other people is not one of my favorite things to do. I’d rather just rely on my documents which I know are good in my jurisdiction.
Also, as a Florida attorney, most of my clients to seem to have a son, daughter, father, mother,brother or sister practicing in another state and ask me if I would be willing to explain whatever we’re doing to their lawyer relative. My standard response is that I will be happy to do that for double my usual fee. That’s because I don’t much care for explaining Florida wills and trusts law to attorneys who practice corporate or criminal law (is there a difference between the two?) in another state.
Good luck to everyone everywhere on getting their documents right.
BTW, I have never met a mean lady at the court house. Maybe they’re nicer to attorneys or maybe we are just lucky in this part of Florida because everyone I’ve met in Recording has been super nice.
Yesterday, I went to the Baltimore County Office of Budget and Finance to file a deed. Upon arrival I order a lien certficate, which turned out to be clear. This is my first subject-to deal, so according to Ron Legrand and Randy and Charlie France, I needed to record a warrantee deed to trustee. After doing a bit more research I realized that in Maryland, placing a deed into a land trust for estate planning purposes is a non-taxable event. I can then transfer beneficial interest to me.
However, after scrutizing my documents the “mean lady” at the recorders desk began to over-analyze my deed and trust agreement. She ultimately found several problems with the agreements. For instance, she stated that my deed is missing the “Being Clause” that describes how granor(s) got ownership; (What is that and does anyone have the wording)?This along with a bunch of other trivial stuff.
Moreover, she stated that because my trust agreement had certain language regarding ownership transfer, that this could possibly be a taxable event. How do I solve this mess?
The last issue with this deal is with regard to the owner and the way in which she signed the deed. The title to the property is still listed in her formerly married name. However, she signed the deed using her maiden name. However, I do have a limited power of attorney regarding this property from her. Should I sign her name to the new document? And if so how do I get it notorized.
“she stated that because my trust agreement had certain language regarding ownership transfer”
What in the world are you doing taking the “Trust Agreement” for review by the “mean lady”??? You simply take a “properly prepared Deed” and the “Trustee’s Affidavit” for recording. Nothing more! Do not ask for corroberatring advice from Courthouse personnel… that is not their job. You get a competent Atty who is well versed in Deeds and Trusts to prepare or at the very least review the docs… then record only what needs to be recorded.
A Trust Agreement is between the Trustee and the Beneficial Interest, and nowhere in the document will you find reference to the “mean lady” at the Courthouse… and that is for a specific reason.
Do yourself a favor, stop preparing Deeds and only have them prepared by competent people. Your function should be one of marketing and not practicing law. Besides, a good marketer in REI makes considerably more $$$ than a RE lawyer…
It looks like you have two books/courses that explain the Subject-To transaction with documents; however, did you have a local attorney review them so that your contracts/forms would be legal and easily recordable for your state/county?
It is an important step in getting proper documents for your area and usually can be done by taking your documents you have from a course and having them reviewed by an attorney in your area to insure compliance. All 50 states allow you to buy and sell property, but not all 50 states have the same state laws regarding clarity and legalities for certain issues that state may have with real estate law.
Head over to an attorney and get your documents in order (reviewed) so that your next one will go cleaner. While you are there, talk to the attorney about a fix for this transaction.
Heed the deed advice here… - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on April 02, 2003 at 12:39:06:
JT knows of what he speaks. I was always of the belief that one should be able to do everything for oneself: taxes, recording, contracts, etc. Not anymore. I will not be preparing another doc for recording. I have yet to record anything myself that was complete or correct. Wrong form, wrong notary language, missing property description, wrong property description. It seems endless. I have made mistakes while recording things to fix my mistakes. And I’m a detailed oriented person.
This is what attorneys are for. This is what escrow is for. Not that they don’t make mistakes. They do. But they have to deal with them. We have better things to do–like find more deals.
From one who learned the hard way from the many mean ladies at the Kern County Hall of Records…Kristine