I sold my home in nevada and moved back to texas. The person who bought my home was suppose to move in and keep up the payments but just yesterday a neighbor called me here and said that someone has been living there for a few months but was not the person who bought the house. I called the bank that has the mortgage and he was suppose to keep up paying the mortgage but has not made any payments in seven months i knew nothing about because any notices go to the home ( we did not want the bank to know i did not live there ). I was able to get a telephone number of the person who lives there now and they claim they are renting to own but have not seen the person they are renting from in about 2 months after giving him $15,000 as a down payment.
I have been unable to call the person who bought it from me his phones have been disconnected.
The person who is living there claims they have received many letters from the bank but have just been sending them back
do i need a lawyer ?
2007-12-29 01:49:10 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
i have no clue what documents you signed or any of the details but sounds like the "I will buy your house" scams being run around here.
first you never sold it if you kept your current mortgage in place and were hiding from the lender. It is very popular for scammers to seek out desperate sellers filling their minds with they will solve all your problems then advertise the home and take what upfront cash they can get out of the next person in the chain.
i am no lawyer.. but you need to make arrangements with your lender to pay all back payments, seek legal advice on the documents you have and evict whomever is living there.
things like this happen when no one seeks the advice of a lawyer before signing documents they do not understand
2007-12-29 02:15:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you need a lawyer because you were trying to get out from under a mortgage you could no longer afford? Did the buyer assume the mortgage properly? Were they even qualified or did you give the deed to the property to this person and they knew how to shortchange both you and the people who think they have a lease option?
All the above questions are RED FLAGS and you will end up not only needing to pay the loan (your sole responsibility), but could be held liable for the $15,000 that the 3rd party lost to the guy you sold your house to. Right now you are involved in a possible FRAUD situation so gather up all paperwork that has to do with selling your home(contract,letters,phone messages,notes,dates and times,names of all parties involved,companies who did the paperwork such as title and escrow. Contact a real estate attorney ASAP and give them all the information, do not hold back.
FRAUD that is done whether intentional or not to the public is a federal offense and not taken lightly (even if you did not know or did know).
2007-12-29 12:14:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From what you are saying it appears that you sold the home without having the buyer properly assume the mortgage, assuming that it was assumable at all. You are now potentially in the situation where you no longer own the home but are still liable for the mortgage payments!
This practice is known as "equity skimming" and is illegal. However since you have signed over title to the home you are left without much legal leg to stand on yourself.
In all likelihood the bank is about to foreclose on the mortgage. Since you are still the debtor of record on it, YOU will be responsible for any shortfall from the foreclosure sale. The current "rent to own" occupant will also take the short end of the stick as they will be evicted once the foreclosure completes. At least they have no claim against you; their claim is against the person who "sold" the home to them.
So, now you know what the consequences of going behind the lender's back are! To answer your question about a lawyer, YES you need one. And quickly. You're about to take a major financial bath so at least you need to know what you are facing.
2007-12-29 10:03:34 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need a lawyer, at a minimum. You breached your mortgage agreement with the lender, and I venture that you are well aware of that. You can't 'assign' the mortgage to another person without lender approval. Hence, you are still legally on the hook for the mortgage you signed. I hope you didn't transfer ownership of the property to the new 'owner'. If you did, you no longer own the property, but are still liable for the mortgage.
Get an attorney, and FAST. This is not a pretty situation.
2007-12-29 11:16:32 · answer #4 · answered by acermill 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You need 1 of 2 things
A friend/relative willing to lend you the money to get those payments caught up ASAP
or
A bankruptcy attorney.
You committed fraud with your mortgage company and now you think there is protection for you?
Have you even considered the damage that more than likely has been committed in your property?
Get your butt back to Nevada and go and talk to the current residents. As the mortgage/deed is in your name they can't keep you out.
You state you "sold your house", but the mortgage remains in your name? So you didn't legally sell it and you are still on the hook 100%. Did you go to a lawyer and fill out a legal land contract? Is it registered?
Go to NV and get a lawyer. I have a feeling 2008 is going to be pretty harsh for you.
2007-12-29 11:17:43 · answer #5 · answered by Gem 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your mortgage is DUE IN FULL as soon as you sell the house. If you signed over the title without paying off the mortgage, you GAVE the house away and DEFAULTED on you mortgage. So, YES you need a lawyer several months ago. I believe you acted in good faith, but you BROKE SEVERAL laws.
2007-12-29 10:33:44 · answer #6 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You did not sell your house. You made some arrangement with someone who probably intended to defraud you. Very likely he proposed the arrangement and made it sound good to you, and you took the bait.
Real estate transactions have to be in writing and the transaction has to be properly recorded. You entered into a sham transaction in which there was no transfer of ownership and with which you hoped to mislead your mortgage company. At this stage you need to seek legal advice in the hope of retaining ownership of your house and mitigating the financial loss. Best of luck.
Best of luck.
2007-12-29 10:07:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You say you "sold" the home. Do you really mean that or are you saying that you had an arrangement for someone else to make your payments? Who holds the mortgage loan?
2007-12-29 09:54:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
a lot of people here are not really helping. I don't think the word fraud needs to be used. I think this person just thought they sold the house. Maybe on land contract or something. But since it does sound like the house has not been technically sold, a lawyer should be contacted to help clean up this mess. But it certainly doesnt sound like the fault of the person that is asking this question.
2008-01-01 00:07:10 · answer #9 · answered by Mortgage Expert 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This sound as a LEASE SOLD ?
Normally by a normal sale they had to pay the full amount in precence of a notary or sollicitor otherwise, yes best seek legal advice by sollicitor.
2007-12-29 10:00:59 · answer #10 · answered by Chantal D. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋