Posted on: 13th Feb, 2010 12:07 am
hi everyone! i'm glad i found these forums. hopefully someone can help me with this complicated position i'm now in.
i live in tennessee. i saw an ad in the newspaper for 1/2 acre and decided to buy it on a deed for contract. the man wanted $8000 and i offered him $4000 down and 12 monthly payments on the balance. he agreed. he said he would have the contract drawn up by a lawyer and the lawyer wanted a survey of the property done. in good faith i gave him $1200 so he would have money for the lawyer, etc. i agreed to pay the survey.
the reason behind this is because he is an elderly man on disability and i guess my soft side took over.
anyways, i get a surveyor out there. he calls me and says the neighbor is out there claiming the property is his and that he has a contract on the property. the surveyor leaves. i contact the seller and he tells me the neighbor bought 1 of 2 lots that are together. then the man wanted to buy the 2nd lot with owner financing. he made about half the payments and stopped paying on the property around 1/2009. he said he would give me a warranty deed.
i went to the courthouse and pull all the deeds. sure enough the seller is the only one with a warranty deed and the other man has a quit claim deed for the 1st lot.
here's where it gets tricky. i went to the attorney's office that been handling these affairs for both parties. he said there is another deed for the 2nd lot in the neighbors name. but he never signed it or had it registered. the seller gave him the deed and gave him a contract . the contract states he defaults if he is 45 days behind on payments.
meanwhile, i get another surveyor out there and met him at the property. here's where i first meet the neighbor. he claims the seller signed another piece of paper claiming he would not take that property from him or hassle him. i see said paper and it looks like the signature is forged. surveyor #2 leaves telling me we need to get this mess straightened out first.
where do i go from here?? i want the property, but i don't want to take it out from under the other guy. the seller probably will try not to give me my money back, saying i backed out of the deal. if i follow through, the neighbor is going to take the seller to court and i risk losing all my money.
doesn't the seller have to foreclose on the buyer somehow like a real mortgage company?
any advice would be greatly appreciated. :d
i live in tennessee. i saw an ad in the newspaper for 1/2 acre and decided to buy it on a deed for contract. the man wanted $8000 and i offered him $4000 down and 12 monthly payments on the balance. he agreed. he said he would have the contract drawn up by a lawyer and the lawyer wanted a survey of the property done. in good faith i gave him $1200 so he would have money for the lawyer, etc. i agreed to pay the survey.
the reason behind this is because he is an elderly man on disability and i guess my soft side took over.
anyways, i get a surveyor out there. he calls me and says the neighbor is out there claiming the property is his and that he has a contract on the property. the surveyor leaves. i contact the seller and he tells me the neighbor bought 1 of 2 lots that are together. then the man wanted to buy the 2nd lot with owner financing. he made about half the payments and stopped paying on the property around 1/2009. he said he would give me a warranty deed.
i went to the courthouse and pull all the deeds. sure enough the seller is the only one with a warranty deed and the other man has a quit claim deed for the 1st lot.
here's where it gets tricky. i went to the attorney's office that been handling these affairs for both parties. he said there is another deed for the 2nd lot in the neighbors name. but he never signed it or had it registered. the seller gave him the deed and gave him a contract . the contract states he defaults if he is 45 days behind on payments.
meanwhile, i get another surveyor out there and met him at the property. here's where i first meet the neighbor. he claims the seller signed another piece of paper claiming he would not take that property from him or hassle him. i see said paper and it looks like the signature is forged. surveyor #2 leaves telling me we need to get this mess straightened out first.
where do i go from here?? i want the property, but i don't want to take it out from under the other guy. the seller probably will try not to give me my money back, saying i backed out of the deal. if i follow through, the neighbor is going to take the seller to court and i risk losing all my money.
doesn't the seller have to foreclose on the buyer somehow like a real mortgage company?
any advice would be greatly appreciated. :d
Oops, sorry, I registered but forgot to sign in.
mitchell i would have been running away by now. is this land so pretty that you can't resist it? or is it so valuable that the $8000 is a steal? i can't imagine any other reasons for your continuing to pursue it. it isn't something that will get resolved tonight or tomorrow, either; you'd better be ready for a long process, i imagine.
I just want to get my money back. The owner called me and said she would refund my $1200. So it looks like it will work out, I am walking away now. Thanks for the reply.
that is the kind of resolution here that makes sense to me, and i'm glad we're on the same page, at last.