Posted on: 15th Apr, 2004 01:17 am
Forfeiture is a kind of foreclosure carried out in case of land contracts mostly. A land contract is a real estate contract in which the buyer agrees to pay the balance of the purchase price to the seller and in return the latter offers him a deed when the contract is paid in full. The seller retains title to the property till the contract is fully repaid.
There are various reasons behind initiating forfeiture. The seller often starts this legal process when the buyer does not fulfill the obligations of the contract or if the latter stops making payments of the land contracts. For instance, the buyer may fail to keep in good repair condition. Forfeiture may also be initiated if the buyer intends to sell off the property to a third party without an approval from the lender.
Prior to the action of the forfeiture, the seller sends a 30 day written notice to the buyer. This notice must meet the following requirements.
In forfeiture, the seller files an affidavit with the county recorder in order to reflect the change in ownership. Upon successful completion of the legal procedure, the buyer becomes a tenant at will and he may have to leave the property within a few days as stated in the contract. Usually the seller starts off the eviction action by issuing a 3 day notice to the buyer to quit the property.
If a buyer thinks that the seller has incorrectly forfeited the land contract, he can file in response to the eviction petition which deals with the issue of ownership of the property. If the buyer can prove that there is no default in the land contract, then he can stop the forfeiture and regain his ownership rights over the property.
In most cases, where the forfeiture is due to non-payment of monthly installments, the buyer can escape the legal action by paying a substantial amount of the purchase price to the seller. But this is not always guaranteed.
There are various reasons behind initiating forfeiture. The seller often starts this legal process when the buyer does not fulfill the obligations of the contract or if the latter stops making payments of the land contracts. For instance, the buyer may fail to keep in good repair condition. Forfeiture may also be initiated if the buyer intends to sell off the property to a third party without an approval from the lender.
Prior to the action of the forfeiture, the seller sends a 30 day written notice to the buyer. This notice must meet the following requirements.
- The notice must be in writing.
- It should state the details of the contract and describe the features of the property.
- The notice must state the terms which the buyer could not fulfill.
- The notice affirms that the buyer has to meet his obligations or else the contract will be forfeited.
- The legal notice should state the amount of attorney fees claimed by the seller.
In forfeiture, the seller files an affidavit with the county recorder in order to reflect the change in ownership. Upon successful completion of the legal procedure, the buyer becomes a tenant at will and he may have to leave the property within a few days as stated in the contract. Usually the seller starts off the eviction action by issuing a 3 day notice to the buyer to quit the property.
If a buyer thinks that the seller has incorrectly forfeited the land contract, he can file in response to the eviction petition which deals with the issue of ownership of the property. If the buyer can prove that there is no default in the land contract, then he can stop the forfeiture and regain his ownership rights over the property.
In most cases, where the forfeiture is due to non-payment of monthly installments, the buyer can escape the legal action by paying a substantial amount of the purchase price to the seller. But this is not always guaranteed.
Hi Mat,
Your query has been replied to in the given page:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/predeal/about47777.html
Take a look at it. Hope it helps you.
Thanks
Your query has been replied to in the given page:
http://www.mortgagefit.com/predeal/about47777.html
Take a look at it. Hope it helps you.
Thanks
my husband and I purchased a home on a land contract as we were unable to finance a mortgage on our own at the time, we asked the real estate person we bought the house with if we could sell the property as we wanted to purchase a home that more suited our needs at the time, he assured us we could do that, now the owner is saying we cannot, who is right? the co-owners are very uncooperative people
Welcome Judi,
Unless the co-owners agree, you'll not be able to sell off the property. You'll have to negotiate with the co-owners so that they agree to sell off the property.
Unless the co-owners agree, you'll not be able to sell off the property. You'll have to negotiate with the co-owners so that they agree to sell off the property.
I had a land contract and kept current on all payments. We had to leave the house for personal reasons and notified the owner we would be leaving as of a certain date. The contract stated that we would owe them an additional $3500.00 at the end of January, however, we left as of January 1. Are we still liable to pay this?
Hi nancy,
It will depend upon the type of agreement you have with the land owner. I will suggest you to contact an attorney and ask him to go through the contract. He will let you know whether or not you'll have to pay the additional amount.
Thanks,
Jerry
It will depend upon the type of agreement you have with the land owner. I will suggest you to contact an attorney and ask him to go through the contract. He will let you know whether or not you'll have to pay the additional amount.
Thanks,
Jerry
I own a house jointly with full rights of suviorship with my brother. If i sell to him on a land contract does it void my right of suviorship or can he now will property does orignal terms of deed change with a land contract .
Hi john,
If you sell off the property to your brother, then your brother will become the sole owner of the property. Thus, you won't have any rights toward that property.
Thanks
If you sell off the property to your brother, then your brother will become the sole owner of the property. Thus, you won't have any rights toward that property.
Thanks
i purchased a home back in april 2010. my IRS tax insentive got denied and that was setup in my land contract as my down payment. I have been current with all of my monthly payments and have even paid some extra for the down. i am still 7500$ behind and i am not having any luck comming up with the money. Can i be forclosed on by the seller and if so how long can the process take.
Welcome cheff,
As you are paying the dues, I don't think the lender will immediately foreclose the property. You should have a word with your lender in order to find out how you may be able to pay off the delinquent balance and save your property from foreclosure.
As you are paying the dues, I don't think the lender will immediately foreclose the property. You should have a word with your lender in order to find out how you may be able to pay off the delinquent balance and save your property from foreclosure.
I am 19 months into a 20 month agreement with the buyer of my mobile home. She has been late on payments nearly every month and is now currently 3 months late. I have tried reasoning with her to finish the contract out, but now she hasn't followed through on her promises and won't return phone calls. I need to move forward with the eviction process, but don't know where to begin here in Ohio. Any advice?
Welcome Randi,
You should contact a lawyer based in Ohio and check out how you can evict the person from your property. As far as I know, you will have to file a lawsuit and get a judgment in order to evict the person from your property.
You should contact a lawyer based in Ohio and check out how you can evict the person from your property. As far as I know, you will have to file a lawsuit and get a judgment in order to evict the person from your property.
We gave our son a $4000.00 boat for 1/2 acre, for our other son, who is disabled. That made the proberty paid in full. Now, our son does not want him living there, after we paid for all improvments and moved a mobile home there 15 months ago. He is trying to get him evicted. It was an oral agreement, we just trusted our son to do the right thing, and never thought there would be a problem.....Our son (the seller) did make the statement in writing that we gave him the boat for the land. We live in Ky....how can we make him honor the oral agreement? Thanks
Hi humbird,
It will be difficult for you to make him honor the oral agreement. He is not liable for honoring an oral agreement. Nevertheless, you should contact an attorney and take his opinion in this matter.
Thanks
It will be difficult for you to make him honor the oral agreement. He is not liable for honoring an oral agreement. Nevertheless, you should contact an attorney and take his opinion in this matter.
Thanks
I am in the process on buying a condo. When i was bidding on the condo, i was told the property was a new never lived in. I made my bid based on the condo being new. Come to find out the condo was previously lived in. the builder is telling me that does not changes things because the previous owner elected to give back the property and they never foreclosed. Isn't it true if there was a previous owner on the deed, it is considered a foreclosed property; which changes the value?
6 years ago my husband and I bought a home on land contract. We have paid to date almost 70% of the original purchase price. According to our contract our payments are due on the 20th of the month with a grace period ending on the 25th. Any payment made after the 25th includes a $5 per day late fee, if payment is not made by the 15th of the following month we have agreed that we understand that the seller may begin to try to take possession of the home.
We made our June payment along with applicable late fees five days past the end of our grace period. The seller has called and said that she will be sending out a notice of eviction, because she is tired of us paying late. In six years we have never been more than a few days late and never even came close to the 15th of the following month.
We have not breached any part of our contract. Is there anyway that she will really be able to evict us?
We made our June payment along with applicable late fees five days past the end of our grace period. The seller has called and said that she will be sending out a notice of eviction, because she is tired of us paying late. In six years we have never been more than a few days late and never even came close to the 15th of the following month.
We have not breached any part of our contract. Is there anyway that she will really be able to evict us?