Landlords are frequent targets of lawsuits. Who wouldn’t want to own their investment properties anonymously? But governments don’t like anonymity, especially when it comes to large assets that are frequently at the center of legal actions. Most states' laws are designed to prevent anonymous ownership of tangible assets.

So is it ever possibly to truly own real estate anonymously?

The short answer is (drum roll please)… not perfectly, but you can make it difficult for anyone to figure out who really owns your property.

That said, it’s pretty easy to buy real estate anonymously. Anyone can use an associate’s name (a “nominee” in legalese) on the contract of sale. The nominee can then assign you the contract of sale before settlement with just a signature, or if they buy it in a company name, they can simply assign ownership of the company to you after purchasing. Easy as pie. In the latter scenario, your name appears exactly nowhere on the settlement papers, sales contract or articles of incorporation.

The last year has been a record-breaking one for real estate markets across the country. Low mortgage rates, limited inventory, and high demand have resulted in a real estate market boom and high home prices, but Has the Housing Market Peaked?  That said, as of August 2021, there are indications Read more…

As real estate markets around the country are booming, many investors are deciding to sell their rental properties. If you decide the time is right to sell, the next step is determining whether selling your rental property with Tenants in place or waiting until they leave is right for you. Read more…

In a normal rental market, prices begin rising in the spring in anticipation of the peak rental season, summer. This year, however, COVID-19 has substantially disrupted rental trends and made some notable changes in the rental markets in major cities throughout the United States. While changes in the amount of Read more…

Being a successful property manager means juggling a lot of things. From advertising a listing to personalizing the property and optimizing the price, AllTheRooms, a vacation rental data provider, has provided its top tips on how to be a successful short-term rental property manager. 1. Know the Market In order Read more…

Selling FSBO does not guarantee more profit in your pocket just because you are saving on realtor costs. Furthermore, while some FSBO do work out well, they are not all equal, as they depend on the house and the market. This summer, between our personal homes and those of our family, we sold or facilitated the sale of six homes in four different states. Two of these homes ended up being sold For Sale By Owner (FSBO). In the end, one of these deals was the perfect situation for FSBO, and the other was a disaster. We not only had to deal with a lot of headaches, but we also lost $15,000 of potential income, even after taking potential realtor expenses into account.

One of the fastest growing trends in real estate is returning a higher profit by turning a property into a furnished short-term rental, typically either as a corporate rental (30 days or more) or vacation rental (less than 30 days). We personally have turned two of our houses into furnished rentals aimed at the corporate rental client for off-season and vacation rentals for peak season. While for us, furnished rentals have been a blessing, there have been a lot of consequences to this decision. The key is deciding if this makes sense for you and your situation.