Do I Have a Right to Sell My Property if It is in Foreclosure?

 

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Do I have a right to sell my property if it is in foreclosure?  You do have the right to sell your property whenever a foreclosure action is filed.  You can sell the property any time prior to it being sold in a foreclosure sale by the clerk’s office.  Presently, the foreclosure act is being concluded through a foreclosure sale online by the clerk.  So, just because you have received a foreclosure complaint does not mean that you cannot sell your property.

 

Many people do, and it’s usually a short sale, meaning that the lender accepts the net proceeds in full satisfaction under a mortgage, so you’re selling it for less than the amount owed.  So, don’t give up because you get served with a foreclosure complaint.  You’re still in a position to sell your property at any time.

 

So, if you have any questions about selling your property, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

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Does a Trust Protect My Real Estate From Creditors?

 

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Does a trust protect my real estate from creditors?  I’ve heard from any number of people saying, “Oh, well, he put his property in his trust so the creditors could not reach them.”  Well, this is a myth.  If you have a revocable trust and you transfer your assets into your revocable trust, it does not protect them from creditors and creditors can reach them just as if you owned it in your individual name.  So, by doing that, you haven’t accomplished anything.  I suggest if you’re concerned about liability as far as, let’s say, a rental property, then I suggest that you get liability insurance or what you call an umbrella policy to protect you against any potential suits by tenants.

 

If you’re concerned about creditors reaching your property as a result of an automobile accident or something like that, an umbrella policy would also be the answer.  Now, anytime the property has a secured lien, such as a mortgage, well, they’re able to foreclose the property no matter who owns the property and the lean take priority over any subsequent advances.

 

So, if you want to protect your property from creditors, give me a call at (727) 847-2288 and we’ll be glad to talk to you about how to protect your property from creditor’s claims.

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Do I Still Own My Property if I Have Filed for Bankruptcy?

 

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Do I still own my property if I have filed bankruptcy and have included the lien or the amount that I owe in the bankruptcy estate?  The answer is, yes, you still own the property even after you’re discharged from bankruptcy.  The bankruptcy simply discharges the debt, meaning that you no longer have personal liability for the promissory note.  The lender still has a mortgage against the property.  However, they must foreclose that mortgage in order to divest you from the title.  So, you should not just walk away from the property even after a foreclosure in that you can retain the property until they complete a foreclosure action.  So, you still own it until such time as they’ve completed a foreclosure action against your property.

 

If you have any questions about ownership of your property after you’ve filed a bankruptcy action, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

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What Role Does an Attorney Play in a Real Estate Transaction?

 

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What role does an attorney play in a real estate transaction?  Well, the attorney gives you peace of mind that you have someone looking out for your interests.  We usually start with the contract.  That’s probably the most important time where you can get input from the attorney because he can provide safeguards for you in purchasing the property and put certain contingencies in the contract so that if the property fails an inspection or you don’t get your financing, then you don’t have to go through with the transaction and you can get your deposit back.

 

The real estate attorney will also educate you as to what certain matters mean such as husband and wife, the legal context, the meaning of tenancy by the entireties, and what does that mean to a married couple?  There’s any number of practical matters that the attorney can talk to you about such as the getting insurance and whether or not it’s in a flood zone, windstorm, sinkhole coverage.  Also home inspections to see if a property has previously been repaired as a sinkhole.  Just any number of matters that are probably more of a practical nature than a legal nature.

 

And of course reviewing to make sure that the title you receive is a clear title, meaning that there are no liens or second mortgages against the property.  And looking at the title commitment and advising you of code assessments and things such as that or road assessments on the property and making sure you’re not responsible for those when you close.  Also another aspect is utility bills, unpaid utility bills.  Are you responsible for them?  Most of the closing documents you see say that the title company is not responsible for any unpaid water bills.  So the role of the attorney is to protect you, give you peace of mind that you have someone that’s working for you and knows what they’re doing.  They’ve been there before and looked at, in my case, thousands of real estate transactions.

 

So if you have any questions or you’re buying a house or real property, well give me a call and I’ll be glad to review your contract for you and represent you in a real estate transaction.  Please call me at (727) 847-2288.

 

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How Can Domestic Life Partners Use Estate Planning to Provide for One Another?

 

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How can domestic life partners use estate planning to provide for one another?  Well, it’s imperative if you do wish to provide for your life partner that you do estate planning and that you can provide for your life partner in your will.  You can designate him or her as a beneficiary under your life insurance policies.  You can set up joint accounts naming your life partner as the beneficiary.  One of the problems that you may have is when it comes to 401ks and your profit sharing plans.  Sometimes that’s more difficult.  Florida does not recognize civil unions.  Even if you have a civil union recognized in another state, it won’t be recognized here in Florida.

 

So the key to providing for your life partner after you pass on is to do the planning and do a will and set your accounts up in your joint names.  And sometimes it’s – I’ve seen any number of times – it’s tragic when a life partner has cared for the other one for many, many years and they didn’t make any provision for them.  And then whenever they pass away the life partner gets nothing.  So I urge you to go ahead and have a will prepared and provide for your life partner and do the planning.  If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.  Thank you.

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