Question


Teresa E

Answer my question please. House mortgage. Probate court???? Help!!!!?

Question for an attorney, lawyer, judge, or homeowner ....or anyone familiar with this situation. I am clueless. Long story short, I have bad credit. Looked into buying a house in SC. Man seen my credit was bad and helped me buy his house by using his lawyer. We went, got a signed contract, with all the payments marked out month by month. I am to own the house in about 11 years after the start of the contract. He still owed on the house and doesnt have the deed yet. I was helping him so he didnt have to pay 2 house mortgages and he was helping me get a house all though i had bad credit. but basically he owed exactly what he was charging me for the house. I would pay him, he would pay the bank, and thats how it worked for the last 3 years. Well now, he has passed away. Sitting in the lawyers office in front of the lawyers he told me, to not worry about when he dies cause he was elderly, his daughter would then start taking the payments and paying them for me. Once I furfill my aggreement the deed was to be turned over to me. He said his daughter was as kind and understanding as him and that they are just glad we could all help each other. I've been paying his daughter for 6 months now. This month she sent me a letter in ther mail saying "all my fathers assets will be turned over to probate court, i hope the judge is a leaneant on you as my father has been". Whatever thats suppose to mean, considering the facts that the house was overpriced, high interest rate, and needed several repairs that i was unaware of before purchasing such as one very pricely expense.... all wiring needed replaced. I have always paid her father and always paid on time. I even pay $50 to him a month so he could continue to keep the insureance on the house that he had purchased for it. Also i have added an addition and a privacy fence that cost around $15k, only becasue I thought this was my house for good. Basically i need to know what probate court is going to do? is the $4000 down payment and $30,000 ive already paid just my loss? What about the contract agrrement signed by the lawyers that say i will own the house in 8 more years if i pay monthly? I cannot get a loan to pay off the house. i cannot get it in my name or finance it. I have bad credit that stems back to hospital bills when i was a child and credit cards issues from college years. What do i do now? I am a single mother of three kids, going thru a divorce, and I would have never paid $1000 a month and a down payment unless I thought we were going to own this house one day. Do I pay next months payment? How do I know if she has been giving my $1000 each month towards the house loan? help! i feel suckered and as if Im going to have to come up with moving cost. I feel as if I am outta of $50,000 that I could have used for college, kids college, anything sides rent. I would have not paid a down payment and those large payments, those interest rates or the addition money if I was just renting.

5 months ago - 2 answers

Best Answer

Chosen by Asker

Problem here sweets, is that once he died, the probate court has to decide what to do with his assets and debts. If he had an open mortgage on the house, it probably has to be sold to pay it off. The lender has no obligation to let the daugher take over payments to keep your agreement. With a good lawyer and a really good land contract, you may be a secured creditor against the estate for at least some of what you paid. Biggest thing people forget when entering into a land contract is that over 20-30 years, people die. When entering one, a lawyer needs to take all this into account as well as default provisions by either party; generally a good idea for BOTH parties to carry life insurance naming the other as beneficiary with the buyer picking up most of the premium; and getting the property on the death by paying off the note with the policy. Get a good lawyer; a different one.,

by wizjp

5 months ago

Asker's Rating: 

Other Answers

The mans assets need to be liqudated. There is no stopping that. The daughter is basically saying "I hope the judge lets you buy the place". Your contract is void, you made it with someone who is dead, it no longer means anything at all. Just like if you died your children would not be forced to make those payments for 8 more years. Death voids sales contracts that have no completed. If you paid 30k over and above the payments (which were legally rent) you might recover those from the estate. You will have to prove you paid that money and it was not associated with your monthly rent payments. You were not suckered into anything, you took the chance with a very risky thing and it did not work out. You should be given the opportunity to buy the house, but of course you will need to obtain a loan. The estate needs to close out all of the debts/assets of the deceased, and this is one of the assets that needs to be taken care of. The daughter can not even keep the house if there are unpaid debts. You should be given 60 days to move, plenty of time. Your rent will go to the estate, not the daughter, straight to the estate lawyer who is handling the deceased money issues.

by Landlord- 5 months ago