Austin Ranches

There's much more to Austin than it's great live music and amazing food. The companies that make Austin a great place to work and the people that make Austin a great place to live are diverse and expanding. So too is the land in and around Austin. In the past, owning a ranch in Austin could have literally meant owning large acreage inside the Austin City Limits. Heavy growth over the past decade or so has changed that definition. Now Austin ranches usually refers to a ranch within about an hour of Austin.

I-35 not only splits the city of Austin but it also splits the landscape of Austin. Austin ranches on the east side of I-35 feature sandy loam or clay soils that grow good grasses, gently rolling hills and open pastures. The Colorado River is a major landmark in the area and features great kayaking, canoeing and fishing opportunities. Thousands of years of flooding have created a fertile valley around the Colorado River which is used to grow hundreds of varieties of crops - most notably pecans, watermelon, peaches and tomatoes. Majestic oaks, cypress and pecans line the banks of this now flood controlled river which provides water for rice farmers downstream near the central coast of Texas.

West of I-35, the Texas Hill Country is the quintessential backdrop to many people's idea of Austin ranches. The tall, limestone hills create stunning vistas, the quintessential backdrop for a Texas sunset. Many ranch homes feature big, breezy porches designed to take advantage of the views. Year-round, seasonal and dry creeks and rivers carve canyons and create pools - perfect for cooling off in the hot summer. Notable waterways on Austin ranches are the Blanco River, Pedernales River, Onion Creek, Miller Creek and perhaps the most famous, Barton Creek. The Pedernales River flows into Lake Travis, recognized as one of the most beautiful lakes in Texas. Only minutes away from Austin, less developed areas on the west and north side of Lake Travis create the perfect waterfront spot for many Austin ranches.

The diversity of land in and around Austin has made Austin ranches hard to define. From the green, rolling hills of the Colorado River valley east of Austin to the majestic limestone peaks of the Texas Hill Country, there is a ranch in the Austin area that will ft just about anyone's idea of the perfect place to call home.

Dave Murray
Specializing in Austin and Central Texas Residential, Estate, Waterfront and Ranch Properties

Use our web site to search for Austin ranches, Texas Hill Country ranches, Lake Travis homes for sale and find out more about the area:
Web Site: http://www.dmtx.com/
Ranch Blog: http://www.texaswaterfrontranches.com/

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What Is Asset Protection?

It is rather obvious that asset protection means to protect your assets from creditors and would be litigants. A better definition might be pre-litigation planning to deter lawsuits and encourage out of court settlements. The bottom line is not only protecting your assets from attack, but to minimize the amount of time you spend dealing with an attack (to allow you to spend your time more profitably).

What is interesting is that there is very little written about the subject of asset protection. There are no legal casebooks written on the subject, no classes taught in law school and very few books written for the inquiring mind. The term "asset protection" does not appear in state statutes or in the U.S. Code. It is rare to even find the subject written about in law digests.
Recently I attended a continuing education class for lawyers (I am not a lawyer). This one day course was designed to help attorneys "discover assets" of their opponents. While interesting and informative the class was not taught by someone experienced in debtor-creditor litigation. Theory does not often meld with real-world asset protection.

For example, can you imagine that someone would plan 20 years in advance to protect themselves from a frivolous lawsuit? Or that someone would sell an option on their real estate just to cloud the title (in case of attack)? Or that an individual would intentionally over-encumber their investments to give the impression of no equity? The best asset protection plan is one that can be reviewed and approved by a judge in a court of law (assuming the judge knows the RIGHT questions to ask).

However, our legal system is so unpredictable that most people with serious money and assets will not leave asset protection to chance. Boilerplate documents will not be adequate for a good asset protection plan. Professional help should be sought, if you can find it. Solid planning requires well-crafted documentation.

There are three main areas of concern when it comes to protecting yourself. First, your income, then your assets and finally your physical well-being. We have been talking so far in this article about someone tapping into your income by the unauthorized use of your credit (i.e. Identity Theft). This prevents you from being able to either buy more assets or deprives you and your family of lifestyle. Another way of attacking your income and assets at the same time is to sue you. One out of every 15 people will be sued in the next 5 years. Each year bogus creditors, phony lawsuits and the IRS steal assets and income from people just like us because we fail to protect our assets adequately. How do you prevent this from happening to you?

Adopting a philosophy/attitude is certainly your first line of defense. Keeping a low profile, not bragging about your holdings, living a moderate lifestyle (at least locally), and buying proper insurance (we encourage our students to buy lots of liability insurance AND an umbrella liability policy) are all good habits to establish. But, these actions alone will not guarantee that you will not be sued and lose everything to a quick buck artist and his lawyer (and your lawyer too----it costs a small fortune to defend yourself from a frivolous lawsuit).

Your next step is to list out all of your assets (you have probably already done this for your personal financial statement) and analyze each and every one of them. Most of us have developed an attitude about our assets that projects an image to the public that can cripple us at a time when we are most vulnerable. Now is the time to "organize" our assets and properties before an attack is launched against us.

If you look at the really rich people in this country and study their habits, you will find that they benefit from assets but do not "own" many. In other words, they have learned how to enjoy the fruits of their labor without risking their principal. How do they do it? First, they select a few paltry assets to own in their own name. This gives the illusion that when you find these assets, it's all that they own.

Some pursuers will stop here. However, the real assets are hidden in land trusts, personal property trusts, corporations, foundations, family limited partnerships, fictitious names, nominees, agents, attorney's trust accounts, escrow accounts, options, and on and on and on. When properly setup, the user has the full benefit of the assets, but he/she is legally unable to control any of them. Therefore, the assets are beyond the reach of all of their creditors!

The first step in a solid asset protection plan is to put ALL of your properties into separate Land Trusts. This insulates each property from the other. This can be done efficiently and inexpensively if you learn how to do it yourself. We teach people all over the United States how to put their property into Land Trusts.

This article is just the beginning if you are truly interested in protecting your assets. As you can see, this is a complex subject and you will need a lot more education to accomplish your asset protection goals. With any new subject there is a steep learning curve, but if you have spent a life time acquiring assets (or WILL spend a life time acquiring assets) is it not worth getting additional information and training?

Randy is a full time real estate investor who purchased his first rental house in 1969. He has purchased over 200 houses and teaches other investors how to put their properties into Land Trusts for privacy and asset protection. Randy is a national teacher, author and mentor. Randy writes the only Land Trust Newsletter in the county and is the founder of the Land Trust University (an institution that teaches real estate investors how to set up and administer their own Land Trusts). Residing in Illinois (the granddaddy state of Land Trust Law), Randy knows more about Land Trusts and how to link them to other entities than anyone else in the America today. You can reach Randy at: http://www.realestateforprofit.com/ or call him at 866-696-7347. You can also follow him on Twitter (landtrustexpert) and Facebook (realestateforprofit)

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Land Surveyor: What He Can Do for You

People often overlook the importance of getting their real estate properties surveyed. Some of the good excuses are, they got the property from a mortgage/lender company, or it is a waste of time and is expensive. Well, let us discuss why you must have the property surveyed by a land surveyor if you plan to purchase.

Mortgage companies are wise enough to pass the responsibility to the buyer. They do not have the property surveyed before handing it to the buyer simply because they are aware of the significance of not including the survey matters in title insurance policies. Another reason is to refrain from claims of rights and possessions and encroachments, of course, this is to protect their interests and investments.

So the tendency is, once you purchased a property without a survey, problems such as claims of encroachments by a neighbor, or rights to easements by a service company likely arise at a later time after you have settled yourself and built your dream house on the property. This is a major headache! You will surely shell out big bucks even twice or three times the amount you would spend if only you consulted a land surveyor before anything else.

Here is a quick overview of what a land surveyor does for you to understand, in depth, why you must get one to survey your property. The most important part of their job description is to establish an official boundary of land, water or airspace. They do this by researching historical boundaries, and taking measurements. Since they establish boundaries, it is crucial that the measurements are accurate.

So you realize getting your property surveyed by a land surveyor will save you a fortune, after all having that peace of mind and peaceful living are priceless. In any cases that someone claims that your fence is encroached in a portion of their property, or a sewerage company claims rights to easements to access your property for a repair or maintenance, then you will have legal means to fight for your claim.

When your property is being surveyed by a professional land surveyor you will know the exact measurements and boundaries of your property area. You can do anything you want as long as you will don't go beyond your property's boundaries. So you will be confident enough to claim your rights to your property, after all a land surveyor does his job carefully and thoroughly.

So when you plan to purchase real estate property, make sure to consult a professional land surveyor. Here is another crucial thing, do not just hire someone who claims to be a land surveyor or you will get yourself enough problems! Look for a professional one, and someone who has a good reputation since you are dealing with something that can be disputed and legal, it would be best to be very careful with getting someone who will not get you into trouble.

It is surely worth the money you spend to be able to living peacefully with your neighbors and to be sure of the boundaries of the property you own.

Keith Maxwell is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor in Alabama. He is also a Certified Floodplain Manager and has consulted for over 25 years. His surveying and engineering firm completed residential and commercial surveys throughout Alabama and surrounding states. They have extensive experience with GPS Surveying and ALTA Land Title Surveys. Visit us today at Montgomery Land Surveying for more information on land surveying and engineering.

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