Hi,
Here is the back story.
From the day I met this seller, I was told I would be able to purchase property I was interested in. While the house was being repaired to be livable, I rented one of his other houses. This process was supposed to only take a about 2 months and was continually pushed back and pushed back. All the while, still being told that I would be purchasing the home.
The home that I rented was too small for me, my wife, and 3 small children. There were only two bedrooms. My wife and I put our bed in the living room. This was only supposed to be a temporary situation, so I accepted it. Our "temporary" living arrangements turned into a problem when the school found out that my wife and I didn't have a bedroom (two sons shared and daughter had her own). When we brought this up to the seller, he finally finished the house so that we could move in 10 months later. Still telling us we could by the house.
I do apologize, the purchase was to be land contract.
Anyway, because of the length of time it took for him to complete the house, we had to dip into our down payment. So, he wrote up a rental lease for the house stating that we had the option to purchase the house in 3 months. He did this to give us time to build the down payment back up.
We finally built up the down payment and PAID it to him. He was then to setup an appointment with his lawyer so that we could sign the land contract and finally own the home. We did get a copy of the land contract from the lawyer so that we could review it before signing.
Three days before our appointment, the seller called to say he wasn't sure he wanted to sell now and that he would let us know before the appointment. His excuse was that his lawyer advised him not to sell before getting a bigger down payment (after accepting what we already paid).
He finally called back and said that we would be going ahead with the appointment to sign the land contract. We both showed up on time to the lawyer's office and I had my first payment with me. In the lawyer's office he again changed his mind and said that he wanted to wait yet another 6 months before selling to make sure we would be on time with our payments even though by this time we had been paying him rent for exactly a year every month and on time.
I do have the lease stating his intention to sell us this house and a copy of the land contract with my name on it that we were to sign.
What rights do I have at this point. He tried to return my down payment and I didn't accept it for fear that it would put me in default of our agreement rather than him. And I have also made sure to send him the agreed upon house payment rather than the slightly lower rent payment ($11.65 difference), paid by money order and mailed via USPS requesting signature on delivery.
I really want this house that I have been promised for a year now via verbal agreement and written agreement. I fear that he found someone willing to pay more than what we agreed on and is on the drafted land contract.
Chip
Here is the back story.
From the day I met this seller, I was told I would be able to purchase property I was interested in. While the house was being repaired to be livable, I rented one of his other houses. This process was supposed to only take a about 2 months and was continually pushed back and pushed back. All the while, still being told that I would be purchasing the home.
The home that I rented was too small for me, my wife, and 3 small children. There were only two bedrooms. My wife and I put our bed in the living room. This was only supposed to be a temporary situation, so I accepted it. Our "temporary" living arrangements turned into a problem when the school found out that my wife and I didn't have a bedroom (two sons shared and daughter had her own). When we brought this up to the seller, he finally finished the house so that we could move in 10 months later. Still telling us we could by the house.
I do apologize, the purchase was to be land contract.
Anyway, because of the length of time it took for him to complete the house, we had to dip into our down payment. So, he wrote up a rental lease for the house stating that we had the option to purchase the house in 3 months. He did this to give us time to build the down payment back up.
We finally built up the down payment and PAID it to him. He was then to setup an appointment with his lawyer so that we could sign the land contract and finally own the home. We did get a copy of the land contract from the lawyer so that we could review it before signing.
Three days before our appointment, the seller called to say he wasn't sure he wanted to sell now and that he would let us know before the appointment. His excuse was that his lawyer advised him not to sell before getting a bigger down payment (after accepting what we already paid).
He finally called back and said that we would be going ahead with the appointment to sign the land contract. We both showed up on time to the lawyer's office and I had my first payment with me. In the lawyer's office he again changed his mind and said that he wanted to wait yet another 6 months before selling to make sure we would be on time with our payments even though by this time we had been paying him rent for exactly a year every month and on time.
I do have the lease stating his intention to sell us this house and a copy of the land contract with my name on it that we were to sign.
What rights do I have at this point. He tried to return my down payment and I didn't accept it for fear that it would put me in default of our agreement rather than him. And I have also made sure to send him the agreed upon house payment rather than the slightly lower rent payment ($11.65 difference), paid by money order and mailed via USPS requesting signature on delivery.
I really want this house that I have been promised for a year now via verbal agreement and written agreement. I fear that he found someone willing to pay more than what we agreed on and is on the drafted land contract.
Chip
Good luck to you.