Free Land Trust for Privacy and Asset Protection

Sophisticated real estate investors have utilized land trusts in Florida to keep the identity of the Trusts’s beneficiaries (the Trust’s owners) out of public records, assuring privacy, as well as asset protection. 

Often times complex structures are employed by investors owning many properties whereby each property is placed in an individual trust and the beneficary’owner of the trusts in turn is an LLC, corporation or some other trust such as a revocable trust or asset protection trust. 

Cloud Title has partnered with LPS Trustee & Management Services, Ltd., a Land Trust Trustee provider that has over 15 years experience providing land trust services to Florida investors.  When you purchase a property and agree to hire Cloud Title as your title company and pay for the Owner’s Title Insurance Premium, then we will provide a free Land Trust Setup, plus first year’s trustee fees ($350 value) absolutely free of charge. For subsequent years, an annual $100 trustee fee will be due to LPS.

Our unique Land Trust program allows you to establish a Land Trust at the same time you purchase your property, and subsequently purchase your next investment property directly into the trust. If you already have a property under contract then an amendment or assignment would be required in order to take title directly into the trust. 

If you already own a property and wish to transfer the property into a newly created Florida Land Trust you can do so, however a $350 trust setup fee would apply.

You can purchase your next property directly into a Florida Land Trust in one of the following ways:

1. You wait until you have a property placed under contract and the Trust setup documents will be executed as part of the closing. At closing, some documents will be executed by you and some by the Trustee. For this path, simply write your offer/contract with either the ‘assignment box’ checked so you can assign the contract to your trust, or include in the additional terms that “Buyer will take title in a to be formed Land Trust.” The trust setup fees will be paid by Cloud Title on your behalf at closing.
2. If you already have a property under contract you can still amend the contract to take title in a trust, see verbiage in #1 above.

A note on financing:

Check with your lender to confirm if your lender will allow you to purchase the property directly through a trust, without you being named as a co-owner on title. Private lenders and hard money lenders generally will be more flexible but conventional lenders will always want you to be listed on title. You could close the transaction and then deed the property into the trust and LPS will still provide such a trust free of charge if Cloud Title is closing the transaction, however note that the privacy benefit of keeping your name off the public record will not be achieved and you also may be subject to the lender’s ‘due on sale’ clause. We suggest you consult with your lender and an attorney. You will still have the asset protection benefit of not being personally liable for property owned by your land trust.  Land Trusts work best – to ensure complete privacy – with cash purchase transactions.

If you already own a property and wish to transfer the property into a newly created Florida Land Trust you can do so, however a $350 trust setup fee would be due, plus applicable recording fees.

We strongly discourage placing primary residences/homestead properties into a land trust. If you wish to utilize a land trust with your homestead property then please consult with your attorney to ensure that you do not place your homestead exemption at risk. 

Click here to order your Free Florida Land Trust.

Please note: Neither Cloud Title nor LPS Trustee & Management Services are providing any tax legal advice. If you have any questions about the suitability of a land trust, then please consult your accountant and/or attorney.