Expert: Karyn Foley - 8/27/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello Karyn,
My name is Kylee. Recently my boy friend and I began to purchase our first home. My boy friend signed a contract from the seller that said full price, then dates and quantities in which payments were due. The contract stated there were no other verbal agreements and there was a small interest rate if payments were late. My boy friend even brought his father and step mother, a bank manager, to witness the signing since it was our first purchase and we were unsure of it. Unfortunately the house wasn't in living condition when we bought it, there we a lot of hidden damages and some even hazardous. Since there were no binding verbal agreements there was nothing we could do. Naturally with the damaged condition of the house we ended up having to extend our payments. We recently finished our payments entirely, only the seller began harassing us for more money. Confused by it, we got all of our receipts out and brought them to my boy friends step mother, the bank manager, and totaled everything up. We actually ended up over paying $350.00. And even the interest added on only equaled up to $40.00 more. We copied all of our receipts and the totaled amount and brought them to the seller. He got angry with us stating we agreed to buy the house for two thousand dollars more than what was stating in the agreement. We argued saying we signed an agreement stating otherwise, and now he's refusing to hand over the title to the house and is claiming he will take us to court. We have all of our legal receipts stating we've paid an excess of the amount due AND the initial purchase agreement which states the true amount. My boy friend and I are pretty confident we'll win hands down in court, but we'd still like a little reassurance. Is there any chance we'll lose our house and all the money we've put in to it?

ANSWER: Please understand that real estate brokers cannot offer legal advise, as we cannoot "practice law without a license".  From what
I can determine, your cast !of characters is much too large and too confusing.  You need legal support at once, especially with the type of seller you are dealing with. You may spend a few dollars, but a good real estate attorney can save you a lot more.  You probably will not need to go to court; no one wants that, even a good attorney who will be able to sort through everything and get this going in the correct direction.  Don't consult agents, they do not have the expertise or right to give advise.  Let me know what happens,and good luck

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for the advice, I had a feeling that would be your reply. As a follow up I'd just like to let you know we received a call from our seller the next day and he informed us his lawyer looked through the documents and have come to the conclusion that everything is in order and there's no need to go to court over the matter. Basically his lawyer advised him they were all legal documents and there really wasn't much he could do. So it seems as of now it's working out for the better. Thanks for the help you suggested!

Answer
Dear Kylee:  Congratulations on being able to avoid a nasty situation.  Either your seller had a case of the panics, or he was
going to extort you for more.  Either way, common sense prevailed and his lawyer made him realize that he had a legally binding contract.  Good luck in your new home!  Karyb Foley