Asset Protection For Real Estate Investors

Asset protection for real estate investors is a specialized field of its own simply because of the nature of the asset. With cash, stocks, and other investments, we can often move those assets to more favorable jurisdictions that allow us to protect them. This isn’t possible with real estate. 

No matter how sophisticated a structure we set up – say, a Nevada LLC owned by a Cook Islands trust which owns a piece of land in California –California courts will always have jurisdiction over this property, due to what is called in rem jurisdiction. As we tell our clients, “There’s no crane big enough to move your land offshore.”

Does this mean you can’t protect yourself if most of your wealth is in real estate? Not at all, but we have to consider the following factors and account for them in our planning:

1. Do you own the property outright?

2. Do you have co-owners?

3. Is there a mortgage company involved?

4. How often do you seek additional financing?

5. How much equity is available?

6. How much liability does the property bring?

Once we’ve made these determinations, we can plan for how to properly hold and utilize real estate so that those assets are not apparent and available to future creditors.

Tresp, Day & Associates provides asset protection planning to real estate investors daily and can consult with you on the best way to protect your real estate investments. We are nationally recognized experts in Asset Protection. We now offer face-to-face consultations utilizing video conferencing technologies such as FaceTime, Duo, and Zoom.