Lender Limits Liability for Breach of Loan Agreement
California Civil Code section 1668 states: “All contracts which have for their object, directly or indirectly, to exempt any one from responsibility for his own fraud,…
Money and Dirt: Reviewing 2017
Here is a look back at some of the top real estate and secured lending developments from 2017 covered here at Money and Dirt: The 2016…
CA Supreme Court: Entity Ownership Change Can Trigger Documentary Transfer Tax
Many entities are formed for the sole purpose of buying and holding real estate. In this setup, legal title is held by the entity itself (not…
Just How Much Power Does Your LLC’s Manager Have?
A few prior posts have addressed the power dynamic between members and managers in LLCs. For example, see: Seven Critical Mistakes Real Estate LLCs Make (and…
The Evolution of Real Estate Crowdfunding — Some Links
Real estate crowdfunding remains one of “fin-tech’s” hottest stories in 2016. While crowdfunding remains a tiny percentage of overall real estate debt or equity deals, the…
Mind Your Real Estate Partnership Agreement Even In Bad Times (or be prepared to pay “reliance damages”)
Most sophisticated real estate investors are wise enough to know that they should abide by the terms of their investment entity’s governing agreement — the partnership…
LLC Managers Are Not Above The Law (Or Equity)
In an earlier series of posts, I flagged several mistakes frequently made by real estate LLCs. One of those mistakes is ignoring member rights and duties. That…
Alterations Don’t Always Render a Deed Void (or How NOT to do Foreclosure Investing)
Most real estate investors assume that when a deed is altered by someone other than the grantor, without the grantor’s knowledge or consent, before it is recorded,…
Seven Critical Mistakes Real Estate LLCs Make (and How to Avoid Them) — Mistake #7: Sinking Profits on Messy “Business Divorce” (Judicial Dissolution)
We’ve come full circle from MISTAKE #1: Choosing the Wrong Business Partners. Often, choosing the wrong business partners ends in messy divorce, otherwise known as judicial…
Seven Critical Mistakes Real Estate LLCs Make (and How to Avoid Them) — Mistake #4: Stepping into “Alter Ego” Liability
California law normally respects the “separateness” of business entities. It is widely accepted that business is conducted through entities as an appropriate way of limiting liability.…