Landlord’s and Tenant’s Guide by Judon Fambrough

Report Author: Judon Fambrough (Texas A&M Real Estate Center)

InsuranceForInvestors SPECIALIZES in insuring rental properties, vacant homes, and property portfolios. Income-producing property has always played a major role in real estate. Central to much of this property is the landlord-tenant relationship. Significant legislative changes have been made in recent years.

Once basic rule of English common law was that a tenant’s duty to pay rent was independent of the landlord’s duty to repair without an agreement or a statute to the contrary. The lease was regarding as a conveyance of land, subject to the doctrine of ‘caveat emptor‘ (“let the buyer beware”.) The landlord was required to deliver only the right of possession. The tenant, in return, was required to pay rent as long as possession was retained, even if the building was destroyed or became uninhabitable.

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Before Managing Tenant's, You Should Understand Landlord Law and Tenant Relationships!

Wealth Protection by William Bronchick

Report Author: William Bronchick

Eighty million lawsuits are filed every year, an average of 152 per minute. The chances are greater that you will be sued than be in the hospital in the next year. The United States has 70% of the world’s lawyers, and almost fifty-thousand new law school graduates are entering the profession each year! More lawyers means more competition for clients and that leads to new and creative theories of liability.

Here are some more interesting lawsuit facts:

Contingency fees by trial lawyers exceed $10 billion annually.

In personal injury litigation alone, over $96 billion is spent or lost each year in America to deliver $41 billion in compensation to injured parties and their attorneys.

In a personal injury lawsuit, the average cost to defend yourself in a non-automotive case is about $7,500

(Source: Orange County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse – www.occala.org)

Lawsuits are an everyday threat to your financial well-being. Imagine a thug sticking a .357 magnum up to your throat and demanding you turn over your wallet, credit cards, jewelry, and keys to your luxury car. How do you feel? Scared out of your mind? Vulnerable? Violated? You will feel exactly the same way (and maybe worse) when you are hit by a lawsuit and you know you haven’t done anything wrong! I will teach you the skills you need protect yourself from being a target for the “bloodsuckers” and “ambulance chasers.” With impenetrable walls of protection around you, lawyers and greedy plaintiffs won’t be able to touch you or your assets!

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Tenant Made Improvements by Judon Fambrough

Report Author: Judon Fambrough (Texas A&M Real Estate Center)

A nagging question in the back of every landlord’s mind, especially in the case of long-term leases, concerns potential liability for improvements made to property by tenants.

For example, if hunters drill a water well on a deer lease to supply water to the cabin or if commercial tenants install an elevator to make upper levels of a building more accessible to customers, what happens when the lease expires? If the tenant leaves unpaid debt on the improvements, is the landlord liable?

Improvements made with the landlord’s knowledge and consent, but at the tenant’s expense, cannot be grounds for increasing rent because the tenant owns the improvements. The consent must be definite and certain. Tenants may re- move the improvements when the lease terminates, assuming it can be done without damaging the property. Improvements made without the landlord’s knowledge and consent cannot be removed when the lease terminates and create no personal liability for the landlord. But is the land subject to a valid mechanics lien for the unpaid debt? Only three Texas appellate cases have addressed the issue.

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Tax Lien Investing by Darius Barazandeh

Report Author: Darius Barazandeh

Almost every state and territory, in the United States, has a process that is used to collect delinquent property taxes and place reliable taxpayers back on the tax role. This process occurs at the last juncture of the tax collection process and it allows ordinary individuals to purchase the rights of local governments in tax delinquent property. The process can be separated between two general types of systems: ‘tax lien systems’ and ‘tax deed systems’. The tax lien and tax deed processes may be distinguished by the ‘bundle of rights’ sold to the purchaser. In states using a tax deed system, if the taxes are not paid, county governments will sell full ownership and possession rights to the investor. Currently 17 states authorize the sale of ownership rights to tax delinquent property through a tax deed sale or assignment deed. Conversely, in so-called ‘tax lien’ states county governments sell only their right to the tax lien or tax claim on the real property. A total of 18 states have authorized sales of the counties’ tax lien position to the public.

Tax Deed Processes

In a tax deed state the county will sell all of its rights to the property at a public foreclosure auction or through a later assignment process. The sale will generally occur 3 to 5 years after the first tax payment becomes delinquent. Property is sold for the back tax amount plus any fees, interest charges, and court costs. Since property taxes are a small percentage of market value, investors can acquire full property rights at a fraction of the market price. The purchaser will generally obtain full ownership rights or at least all rights held by the county. In these states, the purchaser generally has the customary rights of a landowner, namely to possess and/or occupy the property.

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