Real Estate Law Archives - Tressler Associates

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are not typically something you’ll hear about unless you’re deep into the world of investment opportunities. They’re special companies that operate as trusts and oversee real estate investments. A company acting as a trust may sound strange, but this is how many large trusts work.

When someone with a lot of valuable property and capital places a significant amount of it in a trust, a group of people is continuously paid by the trust to maintain it. Sometimes they work to invest it to grow the contents of the account. A famous example of this would be the executors of the Tolkien Estate, a trust created to protect and maintain the property of the famous author J. R. R. Tolkien, writer of the Lord of the Rings book series.

Currently, Tolkien’s two main executors–Baillie Tolkien and Michael George Tolkien–and a team of lawyers and investors control and care for his estate. This is similar to how many REITs operate when put in simpler terms, but how it starts and benefits a regular investor is a different matter.

Who Creates a Real Estate Investment Trust?

A group of investors can come together or be broached by professionals to invest in real estate investment trusts. Regardless of whose idea it is, investors put money into a trust that purchases and operates real estate properties on their behalf. These investors can be wealthy individuals, investment firms, or large corporations.

What Are the Benefits of Investing With REITs?

REITs are perfect for when stock market investors want regular incomes. These allow investors to invest in nonresidential investments when they wouldn’t normally be able to. Real estate properties such as office buildings, mall complexes, and storefronts are usually impossible for individual investors to purchase themselves. With a REIT, they can.

What makes these trusts even more appealing to investors is that a REIT is what can be considered a highly liquid venture. These are exchange-traded trusts, where investors put liquid cash flow in and get liquid cash flow out. They don’t see real estate agents or title transfer companies if they don’t want to. To be safe, we would recommend that you have an attorney to oversee the title transfers and the contracts to protect your investments.

Investors also only have to be involved as much as they want, which is another reason to invest in a REIT. It operates like a business, meaning others run the day-to-day and only communicate with the investors when they need to put funding in or take the profit out. Though, again, we recommend that investors at least have their attorneys watching over any REITs they’re a part of.

What Can You Invest in With a REIT?

There are many different properties that can be purchased, managed, and sold by a REIT that should interest real estate investors. These include properties that would otherwise be near impossible for an individual investor to invest in themselves due to the time and money needed to make and keep them operational.

Typically, a REIT will focus on one type of real estate, not all of these examples at once. Before you enter into any REITs, you want to make sure there’s a clear goal. It’s unlikely that there are many real estate managers who know how to manage apartment complexes, healthcare facilities, and cell towers. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that someone could manage retail centers and warehouses considering the connection between their businesses. They require business and legal research to make sure that your investment in a REIT is a safe one.

Contact Tressler & Associates Before Entering Any Real Estate Investment Trusts

A real estate investment trust is a good way to grow your portfolio and your capital, especially if you don’t have the time or energy to manage real estate properties yourself. But they aren’t bulletproof, so you need to make sure they’re with qualified investors and managers.

Our Tennessee real estate law firm has experience with writing and reviewing contracts and our estate planning attorney is well-versed in creating trusts. Additionally, our sister company, Tressler Title, is an experienced title search provider.

For any aspect of a real estate investment trust, contact Tressler & Associates today.

In the United States, the nuclear family made of only married parents and children is not as common as you would think. The term was popularized back in the 1920s, and at its peak in the 1970s, nuclear families only made up 40% of American households. Nowadays, the number is down to 18% and falling. In fact, blended families, where at least one partner has a child from a previous relationship, are far more common today. The U.S. Bureau of Census estimates that 40% of families in the U.S. are blended.

But when both partners have children from previous relationships, and then have children of their own, how does estate planning work in this instance? The documents are more or less the same, but what provisions should you consider that you wouldn’t in a nuclear family? With children from so many different types of families, making sure that they are all provided for by all of their parents is of the utmost importance.

If you’re unsure about how to proceed with your will or trust, contact the estate planning attorney at Tressler & Associates for help.

Estate Planning for Blended Families

Even if only one partner has children from a previous marriage, there are still issues that need to be addressed when making your will or a trust. In blended families, parents need to establish in their estate documents how they should spread their estate between the children depending on which parent passes away first. Then there’s the matter of handling arrangements from previous divorces. And while it may seem like a sore subject, there’s no guarantee that all relationships don’t ever sour. It’s important to make sure that the surviving spouse can’t hurt the inheritance of their stepchildren in any way.

Determining Inheritance

There are a few solutions to solving these problems within a will. When you and your spouse create your wills, you can list and specifically divide non-marital assets for your children and stepchildren. An experienced estate planning attorney can walk you through how to do this. The idea is to make sure that each child has something left to them that the other spouse or another child can’t claim.

Non-marital assets are property that a spouse owns before they were married. In most cases, anything one spouse purchases is a marital property they co-own with their spouse. The only exceptions are businesses, certain inherited properties, and anything that’s also co-owned with a third party outside the marriage.

This solution doesn’t solve every problem. If one spouse still has responsibilities from a previous divorce, such as alimony or an agreed-upon payment plan, a third party can claim their property or wealth post-death. This solution also can’t pass marital property from a parent to their child if the stepparent is the surviving spouse. There are other solutions for that.

Creating Specialized Trusts

Trusts are different from wills in that they contain the rights to a property. When you put something in a trust, it stops being your marital property, and the property of the trust’s recipient instead. If there’s something you want to pass down to one or more of your children, you would put them into a trust.

You can’t place all types of property into a trust, such as insurance, vehicles, and retirement funds. For these, you would need to use a different method through those providers, but the process isn’t entirely different from establishing a trust.

With a trust, you can also set specific standards and instructions for inheritance. If you only want to pass a certain amount of assets to your children under specific circumstances, such as if they were unmarried or unwell, you can. If your spouse passes away before you, you may want to leave your stepchildren an inheritance if what they receive from your spouse isn’t enough.

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Estate Planning for Blended Families

There are several mistakes that, if not rectified or avoided, can ruin all the work you’ve done with your wills and trusts. A quality attorney will suggest that you make sure you haven’t made a mistake in the following ways.

Not Settling Previous Marriages

Things like child support and alimony don’t always end early once you remarry. Remarriage only ends alimony if the spouse receiving alimony gets remarried. If the spouse paying alimony is remarried, they still have to continue their payments.

Child support also doesn’t end when a parent gets remarried. Child support only ends early if the parent paying child support terminates their parental rights. Make sure to settle alimony and child support payments or protect your children’s inheritance with trusts so a previous partner cannot claim payment from your estate.

Avoiding Pre-nuptial and Post-nuptial Agreements

Prenups, and their post-marriage counterparts, postnups, get an unearned reputation. While they can be seen as a sign of mistrust, if offered respectfully, they should be a sign of trust from one spouse to the other. If you and/or your spouse require specific estate assets to go to your or their children or that all children be treated equally in their inheritance, these agreements can establish that from the beginning.

Not Updating Old Wills

Old wills are not invalid until you make them so. Getting remarried doesn’t invalidate your old will, and making a new one doesn’t automatically invalidate them either. While a new will technically supersedes an old one, there are many instances where a potential beneficiary can argue for an inheritance or an improved inheritance based on an old will. Update or destroy your old will to be safe.

Contact Tressler & Associates for Help with Estate Planning for Your Blended Family

Families are complicated, and parents deserve all the help they can get for their children, blended families even more so. If you’re unsure how to handle your estate and make sure it provides for all of your children, contact the estate planning attorney at Tressler & Associates. We have the experience to make sure you have everything you need and are prepared for every outcome.

Commercial real estate property can seem simple from the outset. It’s a piece of property you use to run a business, as opposed to the residential property you live on. But then how does an apartment building work? Isn’t that residential real estate since people are living there, or is it commercial real estate since it’s owned by and makes a profit for someone who is not living on it? Can a real estate property be considered both at the same time?

When it comes to real estate law, it’s important to know and understand the distinctions between commercial and residential real estate properties. The laws that govern them are different, and when you have properties that have to deal with both types, you need a real estate attorney who can handle them both.

What Are the Criteria to Be a Commercial Real Estate Property?

Real estate property is classified as commercial or residential based on how the owner uses it, with a few exceptions. This means that a group of apartments or an apartment building is considered a commercial property.

If one building or property has two physical establishments, it can be considered a commercial and residential property at certain times. Think of a business with an apartment above it or a house with a family business operating on the same plot of land. This can be a commercial and residential real estate property, which leads to some complicated real estate laws, regulations, and taxes to deal with.

If there is only one place of residence being used for the business, such as a singular home that’s rented out, the property is residential. Using a residential space to temporarily make a profit does not change it into a commercial property until it can support more than one family.

What Are All the Commercial Real Estate Property Types?

There are four types of commercial real estate properties that all businesses typically fall under. These labels take the work performed in these locations into consideration and what services and utilities the space provides. These four types are:

These distinctions are important because they have different laws and tax laws to abide by. While they are all commercial real estate properties, they do not have all the same restrictions.

What Are All the Commercial Property Classifications?

Commercial real estate properties also have classifications. A property has to meet certain levels of classification, or it may not be used for certain business purposes. These classifications are based on the age, infrastructure, and location of the commercial property. Some industries, zoning locations, and licensing authorities have more extensive classifications, but most use the three-class model.

Need Legal Help for Your Commercial Property?

The real estate law attorneys at Tressler & Associates have been helping local business owners for many years with their contracts, leases, zoning laws, and more. There are a lot of legal barriers that business owners need to be aware of and ready to deal with. Having an experienced legal attorney will help you avoid roadblocks to your business’s success. For helpful consultation, please contact our law firm today.

When you buy real estate in Tennessee, there are different options when it comes to having your property titled. It is important to know the differences because it changes your rights to the property. Here is an explanation of the basic title options available in Tennessee.

All Types of Title Options

Tenants In Common: This is the default title option for everyone except married couples. When a property is held as tenants in common, everyone with ownership rights to the property has a right to use the property. Unless otherwise specified, the ownership of the property is equal. This means when you’re selling your property, you split the proceeds equally with the other owners. Because this is the default rule, unless the owners specifically use another option, the owners will be considered tenants in common. It is also important to note that property held as tenants in common by individuals will likely have to go through probate in order to be transferred.

Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship:  Joint tenants with rights of survivorship own the property equally. The biggest distinction here is that there are survivorship rights. This means that the surviving joint tenant(s) will acquire the deceased joint tenant’s portion upon their passing. This means that you do not have to go through the probate process to transfer the property. It is automatic until the last tenant living passes away. There are strict specifications on how to form the title. So if you need to title your property in this manner, you need an attorney to properly accomplish your goal.

Tenants by the Entirety:  This is the default rule for married couples and is only available to married couples. Tenants by the entirety is very similar to joint tenants with rights of survivorship in that the survivorship rights exist, meaning probate will not be needed to transfer real estate when the first spouse dies. However, tenants by the entirety has one major difference–extra creditor protection. Creditors of only one spouse cannot attach to and sell the interest of the debtor spouse if the property is held as tenants by the entirety. The creditor must be a creditor of both spouses or have the permission of the non-debtor spouse to have that ability. The creditor can only attach to and sell the debtor spouse’s survivorship rights. Because of the survivorship rights and creditor protection, tenants by the entirety is an attractive option.

Young couple with keys surrounded by form of house
Young couple with keys surrounded by form of house

Contact Tressler & Associates for Real Estate Help

Title options are not simple. A real estate attorney can help you understand them and find the right one for you. If you are unsure how your property is titled or want to see if there are better options for you, contact our real estate attorney for help. We would be glad to find the best option for your situation.

Are you currently buying or selling a home? Is this your first time buying or selling a home? If so, you should probably consider owner’s title insurance. There are a lot of questions people have regarding this insurance policy, but among the greatest is, “Do I really need this?” This is a completely reasonable question. In Tennessee, you are not legally required to have it, and no one wants to pay for something unnecessary.

What Does Owner’s Title Insurance Do?

At its most basic level, owner’s title insurance protects a property owner from the consequences of a claim on the title of the property. Most people assume this protects you from someone saying, “Hey, this is my house!” Although that is true, it’s not the primary reason. This would seem rather silly because this is such an uncommon and strange occurrence. A claim would likely appear in a different form. Most claims are almost completely out of the purchaser’s control.

The Need Behind Insurance

For example, human error is an ever-present risk. Of course, businesses strive to do their best, but we are human and we make mistakes. From the surveyor’s measurements of the property to the title search to the recording of liens, there is room for mistakes. And of course, there is always a possibility of fraud. Has someone intentionally not conveyed their marital interest? Is someone using fake IDs? Subject to certain limitations, owner’s title insurance protects homeowners from these types of risks.

It is also important because of the monetary protections. If there is a title issue, you will probably not be able to sell your property until you resolve the issue. If you do not have title insurance, you will have to resolve that problem out-of-pocket.

Keep in mind that even though your lender has a lender’s title insurance policy at closing, that does not automatically cover you. A lender’s policy only covers the lender.

Tressler & Associates Can Help You Get Title Insurance

Owner’s title insurance is a one-time payment at closing and one of the cheapest types of insurance you will find.  Because of the broad protection that it supplies, we recommend all property owners obtain owner’s title insurance.

To learn more about how we can assist you with our real estate law services, you can contact an attorney or call us at 615.444.2345.

The great city of Nashville has recently shown an increase in population which is a sign of a growing economy. With new buildings continuously covering the city, Nashville has become a top destination of attraction and business. These are positive signs that the economy is thriving in the real estate world, which leads to a demand in both commercial and residential properties.

In order to take advantage of the real estate market, which has been on the rise for many years now, it is important to obtain the services of a real estate attorney so that you can legally protect yourself. Consulting with a real estate attorney provides many benefits to a successful transition. An attorney is able to create or evaluate an existing lease for the property that you currently own, or wish to own in the future. There can be many liabilities that are not known while being the owner of a property. In order to feel confident when you are going through a lease agreement, it is necessary to seek the guidance of a professional who can get the facts and provide the proper services.

There are a few policies that can protect you from any issues that may arise during the process of buying or selling a property. The first is for the owner to obtain owner’s title insurance. This is necessary so an owner will be protected from any issues concerning the title of the property that may arise, and you will not have to solve those issues alone or out-of-pocket. The next is for a lender to also have title insurance. If the owner or lender has a title insurance policy, that is not enough to be protected. Both the owner and the lender must acquire title insurance so that you can be properly covered and not have to worry about any of the issues because you will be protected.

Our attorneys make this a peaceful process and assure that your interests will be protected. Let us take the stress off of you and eliminate any possible risks of liability. Have a professional help take you through the proper steps to be safe in your purchase or sale of property.

To learn more about how we can assist you with your Real Estate Law Services your can:

CONTACT AN ATTORNEY  or CALL US: 615.444.2345

With the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA), there are some rules and regulations that current and potential landlords and tenants need to know about. You may not be giving services you owe your tenants under the law.

Many of our clients own one or more residential rental properties that they rent out. For the most part, these clients are people potential tenants in the community can trust. We know them to always try to do the right thing, and our legal advice helps them do that. That’s how we know there seems to be a lot of confusion and myths about what the law actually says about various rental problems.

Most of the time, if the rental property lies in a certain county in Tennessee where the population is over 75,000, it falls under URLTA. For example, residential locations here in Wilson fall under the URLTA of Tennessee. If the county’s population is under 75,000, then the laws are usually governed by Tennessee case law and are much more difficult to traverse.

These laws can be somewhat difficult to understand. When understood, they are a guide for the landlord. They can lead a landlord through the many minefields of landlord-tenant law. With the help and advice of an attorney, any landlord can understand what they need to do.

In almost all instances of landlord-tenant disputes, it takes an attorney who is a veteran in this area. Our law firm has handled hundreds of these disputes, many of which settle outside of litigation. Our residential real estate attorneys can help you proceed through your contracts as a landlord or tenant. If you have a legal question about the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, please contact us today.

In Tennessee, there are different types of deeds. First, let’s define what “deed” means. It can be confusing because the term, “Deed,” also refers to a Deed of Trust. A Deed of Trust is the document that Tennessee records to secure a property as collateral for a lender.  

In short, a Deed of Trust is not the document that we are talking about. We are talking about a deed that conveys someone’s interest in real estate to another person or entity. 

Types of Deeds

In our office, the most common type of deed for real estate is a Warranty Deed. It’s so common that many people do not realize that a Warranty Deed is only one specific type of deed. In real estate, there are three main types of deeds to know about. Asides from those, there are several miscellaneous types that fall under the main three.

  1. Warranty Deed: In this type of deed, the grantor–or the seller–is providing a warranty to the grantee–or the buyer–that he or she is conveying a good and marketable title. The grantor is also stating that he or she owns the property and has the right to sell it.
  2. Quitclaim Deed: This is the second most common type of deed that we see. With this type, the grantor makes no claims as to the title. In essence, they are saying, “Whatever interest I have in this property, I give to you.” This means that the grantor could actually have no interest in the property, 100% of the interest in the property, or any interest on the spectrum in between those two extremes. Because the grantor is making no warranties as to the title, there is little title security.
  3. Special Warranty Deed: This type of deed is somewhere in between the two deeds above. The grantor states that they have not had any title issues while they have owned the property. This is the only guarantee in this deed. Commercial real estate transactions will often use this type of deed.
  4. Other Miscellaneous Deeds: There are several other miscellaneous deed titles that are used, but those deeds are usually somewhat synonymous with the deeds described above.

Remember that the type of deed does not affect the property’s title. For more information about a property’s title, see our previous blog, “Options for Titling Real Estate in Tennessee.” 

However, it is important to know the type of deed being used so that you, as the buyer or seller, know exactly what you are guaranteeing or receiving. Our firm would be glad to help guide you to the correct Deed that should be used in your situation.

CONTACT US

If you are unsure how your property is titled or want to see if there are better options for you, contact us and we would be glad to find the best option for your situation.

To learn more about how we can assist you with your Real Estate Law Services, you can:

CONTACT AN ATTORNEY or CALL US: 615.444.2345

In the days leading up to a real estate closing, costs in addition to the purchase price are often a point of confusion. What are real estate closing costs? Who is paying title expenses? Which of the other expenses are you responsible for? These questions, and many more, are some of what real estate attorneys sort out daily. In short, the answer to all of these questions is that it depends.

What Goes Into a Real Estate Closing?

The primary document used in answering, “who is paying what,” is the real estate contract. This is why it is important to understand your real estate contract before signing. Most expenses can be negotiated within the contract. For example, it is negotiable as to who will pay for the following items:

  1. Closing Costs
  2. Title Expenses
  3. Transfer Taxes
  4. Recording Fees

This is not an exhaustive list and, of course, there are exceptions to what can be negotiated.  For example, the Buyer will almost always be responsible for Lender fees. However, the Buyer can negotiate with the Seller to have the Seller pay a certain amount towards the Buyer’s costs. Ask your drafter for an estimate of all costs associated with closing and who will be responsible for each of those expenses.

The answer to these questions also depends on the purchase price and loan amounts themselves. Several of the expenses, such as title insurance, is directly dependent on those numbers. In Tennessee, we also have a transfer tax that is due upon any transfer of real estate. That tax is also based on the purchase price.

How Can an Attorney Help with Your Real Estate Closing?

To help with these estimates, Tressler & Associates, PLLC, has a calculator on our website, titled the “TRID Calculator.” This calculator will give you an estimate of the costs associated with your residential transaction. One point of caution, however, is that it will not show Lender fees or the other side’s closing fee.

The closing fee is a flat fee that is the same for both parties in the transaction, so the other side’s closing fee will be the same as the closing fee shown to you on your estimate. We would be glad to walk you through the details of our TRID Calculator.

The bottom line is that “who pays what” in your transaction will be dependent on your contract.  We would be glad to draft your contract and assist in negotiating the terms. We want you to be sure of your purchase or sale before signing a contract.

Tressler & Associates Can Help

If you are unsure how to negotiate your closing, how to gauge your closing costs, or need any other legal help with your real estate transaction, Tressler & Associates is here to help. Contact us today.