Articles

“Your network becomes your net worth” is something I’ve heard many times from my friends David Phelps and Jim Ingersoll.  I’m not sure where it originated, but…

When it comes to investing with your self-directed retirement account, timing can be everything.  I received a phone call from a young investor who was concerned about…

In an online forum, I and other very experienced real estate investors exchanged our lists of threats that landlords face.  Almost everyone had “taxes” at the top…

I spoke to a group of real estate investors about buying properties using a creative financing method.  Some of the questions asked reminded me how crucial it…

            One of the biggest challenges I face in my law practice is the outreach from individuals who have made loans years earlier that have not been…

            Collateral is something pledged by the borrower to secure the performance of a loan.  Typically, when a lender makes a loan, the borrower signs a note…

            In this new series, I want to share with you the good, the bad and the ugly that I have seen as an attorney involved in…

            There are certain characteristics that are fundamental to every type of business transaction.  Those fundamentals are clarity, integrity, and accuracy.             The number one problem I…

Not all real estate transaction techniques are transferable.  In other words, just because you can assign a wholesale deal and make a fee, it doesn’t mean that…

In my previous article, I talked about the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people when it comes to your non-family and business pursuits.  In this…

            I’m writing this after just attending a lunch meeting for a REIA in Sarasota, Florida.  I was privileged to sit in a room with three legends…

It used to be that individuals would go online themselves with the appropriate Secretary of State office and submit a filing for their own, new entity, whether…

            Before I get into explaining my experience using the FinCEN website to register one of my existing entities so I could get a feel for what…

What is meant by “substantial control”?  Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), the definition of substantial control is distinct from other federal statutes defining that term, such…

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is here and now in full force and effect.  In 2021, Congress passed this legislation that was signed into law by President…

            None of us knows what life will bring.  All of a sudden, your ability to generate income may be severely restricted by an illness or injury. …

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic in my office.  I’ve been working on some really interesting and challenging real estate deals, including helping three separate…

            During a conversation with a friend of mine who has owned and operated title companies throughout northeast Ohio for the past 20+ years , he shared…

            Have any of the following been causing a little extra pressure or making you feel squeezed in your real estate business – rising interest rates, tightening…

“I’m tired of this!”  I’ve heard that from several clients who are having to go back and locate or create records for their businesses.  Their time of…

            Someone contacted my office and asked an interesting question.  Could they make a loan from their self-directed Roth IRA to a borrower establishing a new business…

            Most of you know that I’m a practicing attorney in Ohio with a history of trial work and litigation.  One of the things a trial lawyer…

This article is not about driving in traffic.  It’s about stopping the one-sided media stories about renters being “ victimized” by property owners, and then going forward…

            It has been said that the best time to plant a tree was 20+ years ago, and the second-best time to plant a tree is right…

            My friend Jim Ingersoll in Richmond, Virginia, recently shared an article from the Richmond, Virginia newspaper giving information regarding the problem with evictions in that city. …

            This is the eighth and final article in a series discussing eight bad “D”s to consider when drafting an operating agreement for an LLC. 8. DECLINE…

              This is the seventh in a series discussing eight bad “D”s to consider when drafting an operating agreement for an LLC. 7. DEBT            Too…

This is the sixth in a series discussing eight bad “D”s to consider when drafting an operating agreement for an LLC. 6. DRUGS When I use the…

This is the fifth in a series discussing eight bad “D”s to consider when drafting an operating agreement for an LLC. 5. DISINTEREST I have been involved…

This is the fourth in a series of emails discussing eight bad “D”s to consider when drafting an operating agreement for an LLC. 4. DISABILITY The reality…

            This is the third in a series discussing eight bad “D”s to consider when drafting an operating agreement for an LLC. 3. DIVORCE             Given the…

            This is the second in a series discussing eight bad “D”s to consider when drafting an operating agreement for an LLC. 2. DEATH             The death…

When I draft LLC operating agreements for clients, or when I review ones that someone else has drafted, I look at them with eight bad “D”s in…

I’ve been sharing with you some of the conversation I had with my friend David Richter, author of Profit First for Real Estate Investing.  I want to…

            In my previous article, I shared some of the conversation I had with my friend David Richter, author of Profit First for Real Estate Investing.  I…

            I had a chance to sit down for a couple of hours with my friend David Richter.  I want to share with you some of what…

I’m going to conclude this brief series regarding trustees and grantor revocable title holding trusts by exposing a couple of myths that have been circulating for a…

            My prior article on “Trusting Your Trustee” generated a lot of feedback, so I want to give you more information and clarity.             One of the…

            Many real estate investors consistently use what I call a “grantor revocable title holding trust”, which is a more accurate term than “land trust”, to take…

            This was the most frequent response I consistently heard from younger investors when I would remind them about the 1986, 2001, and 2008 to 2012 real…

            I am currently going through the process of buying insurance on a property I recently acquired in a subject-to transaction.  The existing insurance carrier will not…

            For the better part of the last two decades, there has been a lot of “asset protection” information circulating on the internet and in seminars about…

            When the topic of asset protection comes up among real estate investors and small business owners, minds immediately shift to lawsuits.  What would you say if…

            Many of you may have already forgotten about the terrible Marshall Fire on December 30, 2021 in Boulder, Colorado.  This blaze devoured a huge area and…

            As some of you know, on Monday morning last week, I woke up to messages from my mom and other family members regarding her fall overnight…

            On more than one occasion, I’ve heard my friend John Hyre make the statement, “The books tell a story.”  Often, the books and records of a…

            This series of emails on the recent Tax Court decision involving the McNultys and their IRA-owned LLC, of which they were the respective managers, has resulted…

            An important practice taught to me early in law school was that when you read a court decision, always look at the legal precedents cited within…

            This is the second in a series of articles I am doing relative to checkbook control questions that have arisen and become important to consider in…

            When I use the term “checkbook control”, I’m referring to a situation in the self-directed IRA investing world in which an accountholder has set up an…

            The bottom line is that all title companies are “investor-friendly” if you know what you are doing and can explain to the title company how you…

            When it comes to choosing a title company, it doesn’t matter how friendly or grouchy the title examiner or title clerk is.  You need to look…

            In my practice of helping real estate investors, particularly self-directed IRA investors, hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear or read the phrase “investor-friendly…

            On behalf of the Seller Finance Coalition, I want to share with you some good news!  The Affordable Homeownership Access Act designed to increase the number…

            I’m dictating this article while on my way to meet with a contractor and a tenant to collect 3 months of unpaid rent before having lunch…

            It is no surprise that the Presidential administration “thumbed its nose” at the U.S. Supreme Court.  This morning I read a memorandum issued by the Cleveland…

            We have begun to witness the “dramatic theatrical productions” coming out of Washington, DC due to the expiration of the eviction moratorium.  Looking at the facts…

This is the third article in a series regarding the multiple text messages I receive every day from people seeking to build a relationship.  Most of them…

            Most of you reading this have at one time or another been personally involved with planting a seed in the ground, waiting for it to germinate,…

            If you have a mobile phone and own real estate, you probably receive several text messages a day from people seeking to buy one or more…

Here is the conclusion to my Facebook rant regarding wholesaling.  If you missed Part 1, CLICK HERE to read it. If you try to cloud someone’s title,…

This will be the first of two articles sharing a lengthy post (actually, a rant) I put up on Facebook in response to a nationally known guru…

I want to share with you something I wrote and posted on Facebook Sunday morning around 4:00 a.m.  I’m deeply honored by the response it received on…

            Everyone reading this is probably familiar with the lyrics and catchy tune of the song Don’t Worry, Be Happy.  I have a little twist to that…

Here is the final crucial element in obtaining financial independence: 7.  Distribute your legacy. Being in the stage of parenting adult children, I’m realizing more and more…

6.  Seek simplicity. We know that McDonald’s is known for two things:  real estate and systems.  They have a system for everything so that a 16-year-old teenager…

5.  Learn to calculate. The tensing of verbs has never been one of my strongest aspects when it comes to the English language; however, in this particular…

I expect that this post regarding the 4th principle for financial independence will generate some controversy. 4.  Dump debt. A statement was written thousands of years ago…

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s fun to dream about how you are going to spend a chunk of money.  Will you deploy it…

This is the second post in my series on “Financial Independence”.  In my previous post, I shared that you first need to get clear about your numbers….

I want to share seven steps I have identified that are crucial elements to obtaining “financial independence”. 1.  Get clear – Know your numbers. If you are…