SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
I’ve been told that the great republic of Tejas Is a right to work state and it’s not as risky as California or New York to have them yourself instead of an LLC. I’ve always carried umbrella policies instead but I’m looking into it right now with my personal assistant @amorris311
Being a right to work state doesn't really have much to do with it. The liability risk is still there, and all of your personal assets are at risk if the property is own by you personally. The umbrella policy likely has many exclusions, and I personally wouldn't feel very safe with it. While there is some limited risk of a plaintiff being able to "pierce the corporate veil" if your property is in an LLC, it's pretty difficult, even with a great lawyer, so your personal assets are basically safe.
Have you had experience with rolling a property with a mortgage into an LLC? I’ve heard horror stories about the holder exercising the alienation clause and don’t want to refinance again just to get one into an LLC.
If you register the deed with the county, yeah, there's a risk that they'll call the loan. There are several ways to deal with this:
1. Just go ahead and do it anyway and when they send you the threatening letter, tell them "you can either leave me alone and I'll keep paying on time every month, or you can insist on calling the loan and I'll just refuse to pay and make you foreclose; which would you prefer?" I did this with a property I own in Ohio that had a primary residence clause in it. The loan was callable if I rented it out, which I did, and I told them to go to hell. They sent me a letter back telling me that they'd "reevaluated" the situation and would extend my time to move back in for two years. That was over a decade ago. Never heard anything about it again.
2. Quit-claim it and don't register the deed. Technically, the deed is valid as soon as it's signed, notarized, and "delivered." So you sign it in front of a notary, then send it by FedEx to your LLC's address for "delivery." The deed is now official. As far as the IRS is concerned, you're all good. Now, how well will this hold up in court if you get sued and they're trying to pierce the corporate veil? That's a very good question, and I'm not sure of a case where it's been tested.
3. Just risk it and see if they even care. Honestly, some banks don't call the loan even if the deed is registered with the county. They just let it go. My attorneys tell me that one bank that's big here in Georgia only calls them on rare occasion, even when ownership transfers in arm's length transactions on wrap-around mortgages. This is what I did when I purchased my office building.
Check with your local real estate attorney and see what he recommends, of course. This does not constitute legal advice, and I'm only licensed to practice real estate in Georgia.
