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Replies (14)
- Randy Hooker, "GoingForIt"
- Contributions:395
If you don't have a written contract detailing your verbal agreement with the owner/seller, then you are probably screwed. I recommend that you immediately consult with an attorney.
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26854
At this point, you consult with an attorney. Written contracts before starting work like this are critical for protecting your rights.
- Terri Linnell, "DebtsNMesses"
- Contributions:6728
The problem is that you increased the value of the home without a purchase prices agreed upon in writing. Even if you get a purchase agreement in writing, you'll be getting it for the price after the work. Move out. Get a lawyer, file a mechanics lein for the parts/materials into the home. You'll be lucky if you get that back.
Friend just built a lady a wall. She was to buy the material, him to do the labor. She didn't pay in full the first installment. He kept working. She still didn't pay in full. He finally stopped working after 3 wks of only being paid 700 in labor. She's now in foreclosure and a mechanics lein won't help. He has to eat it. He now gets paid daily so he only looses one day's labor.
Stop investing time/money thinking you can recover it later.
We are in a depression and that's where the saying "you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip" came from. Money talks, BS walks. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Oh, and don't think you're gonna burn your way out of it. A man here in town tried that and is sitting in jail for murder. He hired some kid to blow it up and the kid ended up catching on fire, and running out of the house screaming before he died. --Murphy's Law --Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Friend just built a lady a wall. She was to buy the material, him to do the labor. She didn't pay in full the first installment. He kept working. She still didn't pay in full. He finally stopped working after 3 wks of only being paid 700 in labor. She's now in foreclosure and a mechanics lein won't help. He has to eat it. He now gets paid daily so he only looses one day's labor.
Stop investing time/money thinking you can recover it later.
We are in a depression and that's where the saying "you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip" came from. Money talks, BS walks. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Oh, and don't think you're gonna burn your way out of it. A man here in town tried that and is sitting in jail for murder. He hired some kid to blow it up and the kid ended up catching on fire, and running out of the house screaming before he died. --Murphy's Law --Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
- Amanda Alejandro, "homesforsale86"
- Contributions:480
wow sounds like your in a toughy. if its not in writing it doesn't exsist is what I say. you can try and take some legal recourse for you labor and materials since he doesn't have anything in writing either you can put a lien against the home for the labor you worked and he can't sell it to anyone unless the lien is satisfied first. I would contact your attorney. Did he not have insurance???
- Lady Chattel
- Contributions:3110
I can't believe anyone would spend $30-40K of their money on someone else's property/house and not have some binding legal agreement drawn up. If you could prove what you spent perhaps you have recourse. Perhaps plant the seed what kind of chit you will cause if this mo-fo tries to stiff you.
Like Debts said, too good to be true is just that! Hence you get the term "a sucker is born every minute"
Like Debts said, too good to be true is just that! Hence you get the term "a sucker is born every minute"
- Terri Linnell, "DebtsNMesses"
- Contributions:6728
Amanda, how do you propose to show you did the work with the landlord's perrmission? All the landlord must say is he didn't know.
The landlord could say he knew, but didn't say he would reimburse the man. If I made a home improvement, such as cabinets to a house I am renting, it is now a permanent structure and I'm not entitled to any reimbursment, nor am I permitted to remove it when I move.
In essence, the landlord did know and also didn't say he would reimburse him, so that is true. That the man sunk an astromical amount doesn't really matter. As far as I know, there is no dollar amount to that law for renters.
Regarding the later promise of sale, without a real estate contract, the courts will assume there is no contract, which there isn't, so that's irrevolent. IMO Only a lawyer could try, but I don't see any way to prove a land contract (which is illegal to be oral) was made.
The landlord could say he knew, but didn't say he would reimburse the man. If I made a home improvement, such as cabinets to a house I am renting, it is now a permanent structure and I'm not entitled to any reimbursment, nor am I permitted to remove it when I move.
In essence, the landlord did know and also didn't say he would reimburse him, so that is true. That the man sunk an astromical amount doesn't really matter. As far as I know, there is no dollar amount to that law for renters.
Regarding the later promise of sale, without a real estate contract, the courts will assume there is no contract, which there isn't, so that's irrevolent. IMO Only a lawyer could try, but I don't see any way to prove a land contract (which is illegal to be oral) was made.
- Amanda Alejandro, "homesforsale86"
- Contributions:480
Amanda, how do you propose to show you did the work with the landlord's perrmission? All the landlord must say is he didn't know.yes and no I suggest he consult with his attorney. there are variances to the law and tenant rights when it comes to repairs per state he can say anything he wants but in front of a judge its a different game. Sounds like to me he didn't have a contract on this nor did he have a lease agreement just verbal everything. he needs to talk to an attorney asap.
- Amanda Alejandro, "homesforsale86"
- Contributions:480
ok I looked into this for you. its called unjust inrichment. you made the repairs under the impressions that you would come to own the property. Since the repairs increase the value of the home in a sense its isn't right that he would be able to sell the home to someone else on your dime. I would call your attorney about this matter.
- jonesser
- Contributions:4
wow thank you very much i did not think that there were going to be so many responses i have not been back to check in a while so i just read all of them today feb 3 .thanks i will make good use of all your advice .the home owner seems to want to work it out with me so hope fully i can at least get him to come down to a reasonable selling price .personally i think that if i don't work it out between him and i then i am screwed and i am a sucker. in a lot of ways i feel as if i am over a barrel . having an appraisel done today .don't know if that is the best option for my situation . i think it might be good to find out how much it is worth .
- workabee
- Contributions:1030
Appraisal is a good idea. Get the number then go from there.
- Lady Chattel
- Contributions:3110
Threaten to take him to small claims court........did you document what you did? take pictures of before and after. Also, you can have a lawyer perhaps or not sure who else can do it, but run a check on insurance claims to the house......if he made a claim through insurance and got paid it seems pretty cut and dried his intent to defraud you.
Watch your back and best of luck.
Watch your back and best of luck.
- jonesser
- Contributions:4
well 165000 not sure how thats going to go over thats about 35000 less than what they want me to agree to. now were is all my sweat equity
- Terri Linnell, "DebtsNMesses"
- Contributions:6728
Well, that is the highest loan you can get. I would offer 165K with 30K down and ask them to pay the down in exchange for materials. Yes, it means your labor is free. --But at least you get the materials. They will get 165K back, so the actual price they recieve is 135K and your loan is 135K with no down. The down side is your property tax base will be 165K.
I have no idea if they can do this, so I would consult a lawyer.
Lastly, nobody gets sweat equity during a declining market. You will have to wait until the market recovers to recover the equity. Even if you had bought it back then, there most likely would have been no equity by now. We bought 1 1/2 years ago and have lost 160K, which is a drop of 45%. It would be impossible to have any equity with that kind of drop.
I have no idea if they can do this, so I would consult a lawyer.
Lastly, nobody gets sweat equity during a declining market. You will have to wait until the market recovers to recover the equity. Even if you had bought it back then, there most likely would have been no equity by now. We bought 1 1/2 years ago and have lost 160K, which is a drop of 45%. It would be impossible to have any equity with that kind of drop.
- jonesser
- Contributions:4
good or bad could be ugly .want to purchase the home that i have spent the last two years rebuilding the home owner says he will possibly finance the home after two years lease if i still can not get a loan the house appraised for one hundred sixty five thousand dollars the home owner wants two hundred thousand dollars the home owner wants me to sighn a lease with a purchase option after two years .i have lived here for at this location for five years. have slept in a single axle camp trailer 8x18 in the back yard with my wife and thirteen year old son while i rebuild this home with out pay from the home owner after the fire i wasdaised and con fused it was a big change to go from the renting a home to looseing every thing u own in a house fire wile your at work thankfully no one was injured thanks to my wifes accute sence of smell we were fortunate to only loose every thing else that we owned inside the house well for ovoiouse reasons feeling pretty over whelmed close to broke in more ways than one we had no renters insurance and no family to help the red cross bless them came to the rescue they put us up in a motel for a few nights then the bishup helped out for a another five days then to a couple different friends places while the whole house fire thing got sorted out after afew weeks the home owner askes me if i mabe would like to clean up the fire dammage and rebuild and then purchase the home that he would finance we had talked about it before but had not persued it he had mentioned a price of around one hundred forty five grand at that time .any and all of my money time matterials was to go towards the purchaseing of the home when it was done so any money i could save the home owner would be bennifical to me so i did just that and being in the construction bussiness i called out to all my co workers past bosses and used up every favor in the proccess thinking it wasto be in my best intrest i did every bit of labor when i say i that means my people and i .provided at the very least 75 persent of the matterials did all of the clean up home owner purchased the permits and the dumpster that we filled up one time and had emptied only once the rest of the eleven hundred square feet i hauled to the dump in my half tone chevy amd a borrowed trailer for almost nothing for the home owner he may have hauled une trailer full to the dump and payed for it i never even charger him for dump fees that i payed for and kept the reciepts to prove it witch is only a small fraction of the costs that i provided to help keep down costs boy what a sucker i was some of the things i proveded were trash bags dust masks gloves nails floor joists construction adhesive 2x4 2x10 2x6 ect to build 11 hundred square feet home the home owner picked up 12 trusses 90 sheets of 7/16 wafer board 150 2x4 36 sheets 3/4 toung and groove floor sheeting and i went to work any of the other materials for the framing i payed for over the course o f the next 20 months i was never payed a dime for any materials or labor . also i payed the utilites water sewer power gas while working construction jobs on the side just to survive houses are not cheep to build even when carring people donate thier time to help out some one for a good cause other matterials that did not cost the home owner nothing were dryin matterials for the roof he did pay for the 15 square of shingels and the 2 sticks of drip edge .the other fifteen sticks of drip and 5 square of shingels i provided and every other material from the roof vents to the facia boards as far as the roof is concerned . i delt with every inspection and inspector not the home owner pretty much was the acting general -home owner . i provided all new pluming 3/4 inch polly pipe from the main ball valve stobed in threw the foundation for two bathrooms a laundry room kitchen and a spicket in the front and in the back and all drains and vents .plus all the labor to save me money on the purchase price or get equity supposably . i put in a jetted tub dule shower heads toilet sink all valves roman deck valve for the jetted tub three shower valves all the tile around the undermount jetted tub compleet seperate two person shower in cluding glass door this master bath is custom it is one of a kind but never the less it is only a bathroom so what if it only cost ten grand .also the kitchen all the appliances gas stove, doubble ovens, fridge, trash compactor ,microwave, garbage disposal, sink ,dish washer, faussets,and all the things in between all eletrical wiring out let s and covers even though the cook top is natural gas i in stalled a 220 out let just in case it was ever needed . all oak cabinets uppers and lowers and solid wood butcher block counter tops all slate on floor and back splash done in a diamound and herring bone pattern came out of my pocket just another 20 grand no biggie. he also bought 8 can lightsfor the cause. the home owner payed for the sheet rock the boards and thats it .not the mud or the bull nose corner bead or the arch bead or the mesh tape or paper tape not even the screws . 20 gallons of finish paint 20 gallons 0f primer and all materials to mask like 20 rolls of tape and a case of masking paper.brake time ill be back
say u are renting a house and u have a fire u dont have renters insurance so u loose pretty much all
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