If I still have to buy under my own name to get the best rates on my loans, then that undoes the anonymity of your structure.

• It actually doesn’t. You are right that if someone purchases a property in their personal name, it doesn’t go away. The historical record of all owners of and liens against all properties are maintained on the land records at the city or county level. However, when we change the name on the deed from your name to the land trust, we’ve transferred ownership and it will look like there was a transfer or sale to a trust. With further due diligence, the only information about that transaction that is visible to the public is that we would serve as the (nominee) trustee. As a law firm, this tends to be a major deterrent because no one wants to put time and money into figuring out who you are and what you own, this is how we stop the lawsuits before they start, right at that land trust level.