Real estate investing has long been a lucrative business practice. Whether you are new to the business, or already have multiple properties, it is important to make sure that you have the necessary legal safe guards in place. In order to best protect yourself and your business, there are many important legal steps that the prudent real estate investor should investigate and consider implementing into their business operations.
The Prudent Real Estate Investor’s Legal Checklist
Author: Warren Gilmore – Law Student Edited By: Ryan Carson
Real estate investing has long been a lucrative business practice. Whether you are new to the business, or already have multiple properties, it is important to make sure that you have the necessary legal safe guards in place. In order to best protect yourself and your business, there are many important legal steps that the prudent real estate investor should investigate and consider implementing into their business operations.
Incorporation
Incorporating your business requires transitioning your sole proprietorship in the business into a company that is recognized formally as a corporation. When a company incorporates the business becomes its own legal entity, separate from the individuals that that make up its ownership. Incorporating also helps to protect the personal assets of the individual business owners in the instance that judgements or other enforceable debts are registered against the company.
In Ontario, incorporations are governed by the Business Corporations Act, 1990. This act requires that all shareholders within the corporation are to be registered as such. Shareholders are those individuals who make up ownership of the company. When the corporation is created, a specific number of shares must be established and issued proportionately to the individual shareholders. The act further requires that a corporation must have at least 1 shareholder, but no more than 50.
All of these advantages of incorporating apply to the practice of real estate investing. Considering the value of real estate, once your operation reaches a certain size it makes a tremendous amount of sense to protect yourself and your partners by incorporating.
JV Agreements
A Joint Venture Agreement works to join together two or more parties, either individuals or corporations, who desire to enter into a limited business arrangement or a single project. The most common example of this arrangement we see in the real estate world involves parties coming together to combine their resources in order to invest in property. For example, Party A and Party B come together in order to purchase a multi-unit rental property. All parties to such an arrangement agree to pool together their resources and to share in the overall performance of the project, including any profits and losses.
Joint Venture Agreements are intended to clearly outline the responsibilities and expectations of the parties as they pertain to the current project. The agreement should further outline the specifics of the project itself, the contributions, both operational and financial, and the specific obligations of each party.
If you find yourself investing with other individuals, or even other companies on individual projects, a Joint Venture Agreement should be considered. An experienced lawyer can help to ensure that all your concerns are clearly and effectively addressed in order to best protect your interest in a given project.
The Transactional Process
If your business operations involve multiple purchases and sales of properties, having an experienced real estate lawyer that you know and trust is another essential tool to have in your company toolbox.
When purchasing or selling a property, a real estate lawyer will help to represent your interests in the particular transaction. They will communicate directly with the lawyer representing the other party to the transaction. They will work to resolve any issues that might arise between the parties before, during, and after the transaction has closed. This might involve the fulfillment of particular conditions to the agreements, or any breaches to the agreement that may arise.
Additionally, a real estate lawyer will help you to navigate many potential speed bumps that often present themselves when purchasing real property. A real estate lawyer will work to discover any potential title issues that might exist on a prospective property and take the necessary steps to resolve them.
Further, depending on the nature of the investment property itself a real estate lawyer can help you put into place other legal safeguards for your investment. For example, if investing in a rental property, a real estate lawyer will not only be able to assist you with the closing of the transaction, but also to put in place the necessary rental agreements with tenants renting the property.
Whatever the particulars of any given real estate investment, it is essential to have an experienced real estate lawyer in your corner.
In summary, the nature of investing in real estate requires a significant degree of due diligence, as large sums of money are involved. The legal components mentioned here are all essential aspects of the overall process of ensuring that your business maintains an optimal level of legal protection.
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The content on this web site is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice or an opinion of any kind. Users of this web site are advised to seek specific legal advice by contacting members of Carson Law, Carson IP, or their own legal counsel regarding any specific legal issues. Carson Law does not warrant or guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of any information on this web site. The articles published on this web site are current as of their original date of publication, but should not be relied upon as accurate, timely or fit for any particular purpose.
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