sale of land trust...putting myself as manager - Posted by chris

Posted by chris on April 09, 2010 at 14:05:38:

Just got off phone with real estate commission. Could only answer questions related to corp. not land trust. They said they don’t get involved in private property rights.
So I pressed on with it and asked if the owner was a part of the corp etc if they had to say they are the owner…response contact an attorney.
that is the PA real estate commission! So happy for the help.

sale of land trust…putting myself as manager - Posted by chris

Posted by chris on April 08, 2010 at 10:56:53:

If a property is held in a land trust.
I am part of an investment company.
I have ben. int. in the land trust.
Can I put myself out as a management company for the purpose of showing/selling the house?
We only manage props we own.
I am questioning if a RE agent that is interested in the prop for her clients is going to put this together or question it.
Technically if I have ownership in the prop I can manage.

But legally, if I don’t want to disclose that ownership would I be in violation in PA for practicing RE w/o license, or prop managment w/o lic, cert etc?
Basic question…how can I answer a realtor without admitting ownership?
I have been saying in the past we are paid to show the property, not paid a commission whether or not it sells.
Am I handling this poorly?

Re: sale of land trust…putting myself as manager - Posted by Edwin

Posted by Edwin on May 07, 2010 at 14:51:36:

What’s the big deal here? I’m sorry, maybe I’m naive, but I think you’re worrying over nothing. You said if you have ownership in the property you can manage it. I don’t believe there is any law that says if you don’t disclose your ownership, than you can’t manage or sell it. I’d keep your mouth shut and just continue as you have been doing. If someone ever asks “are you the owner,” you can truthfully say “no.” And you aren’t. The Trust is the owner. If they wanted to rephrase the question to something like, “Are you the owner or do you have any ownership interest via a trust, LLC, Corporation, etc?” then you may be forced to reveal your interest. Or, you can simply say, "You’ll have to ask the Trustee that question. haha. Much of this might seem like splitting hairs, and it really is. But like it or not, that’s the system we live with.

Call, talk to state RE Commission - Posted by John Merchant

Posted by John Merchant on April 09, 2010 at 13:02:32:

States’ views on this may vary so you need to talk to one of their regulatory officers and see what your state thinks.

In some states the managing member of an LLC can file suit for the LLC, in others he cannot unless he/she’s a lawyer.

I suspect in most a non-RE Agent but managing member of his own LLC is able legally to advertise and sell the LLC owned RE, but probably couldn’t take a REA’s commission for doing so.