SIGNATURE ON LEASE IS CRITICAL - Posted by Jerry - IL

Posted by Ronald * Starr(in No CA) on August 09, 2003 at 11:23:57:

Jerry–(IL)--------

Nice to talk to you.

I’d suggest that you post this question on the legal board, another forum of this CREONLINE.COM website. There, attorneys answer questions.

Good Investing********Ron Starr*************

SIGNATURE ON LEASE IS CRITICAL - Posted by Jerry - IL

Posted by Jerry - IL on August 09, 2003 at 09:45:28:

I have a property in the name of a trust. A bank is the trustee. I am the beneficiary. I just did the paperwork to open an LLC. The attorney who is opening the LLC for me said that when I sign a lease with my first tenant, my signature should read: “Big Bank as trustee under trust #123, by Newbie’s LLC, its sole benficiary, signed: Jerry, Manager”.

It seems to me that this would defeat the anonymity that I am doing and paying so much to protect. It’s telling the tenant (the party most likely to sue me) that the LLC is the beneficiary of the trust that owns the property. Even if the LLC gives me protection in the event of a lawsuit (I still haven’t learned how that works), one layer of anonymity is lost instantly. My instinct tells me that one of the following would be preferable:

  1. Pay the bank for their signature as trustee every time I execute a lease or other legal document.

  2. Give the bank some kind of letter of direction that says I am their agent on that trust and can sign any legal document in an official capacity.

  3. Since as soon as my LLC is ready, I plan to transfer benefical interest of the trust to the LLC, I can make myself the trustee and sign documents “by Jerry, trustee under Trust # 123 at Big Bank” and not mention the LLC.

  4. None of the above (and probably the right answer).

Thanks for any help on this.
Jerry - IL

A Question - Posted by Frank Chin

Posted by Frank Chin on August 10, 2003 at 07:01:36:

Hi Jerry:

Did you about the issue of anonymity of the attorney if this is your big concern? I saw your question on the Legal Board - but local attornies can advise you of local issues.

I formed a “C Corp” that manages my properties. You can form such a company and have this company act as the property manager to sign leases and so forth. You then ask the tenants to issue rent checks to this mangement company.

Many landlords who post on this board pose as a simple “property manager”, and one of them even an “assistant property manager”

The downside here is you need to keep another set of books, bank accounts, tax returns.

Frank Chin