Slipper Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I am so frustrated at the moment. I've posted about our situation before, but the short story is that we bought our neighbor's home (who happened to be our aunt/uncle) and they moved to another state. We set up fairly high payments but they were possible for us to make. Due to some very generous in-laws and other factors, we received enough money to actually pay the blasted thing off in February. But, we couldn't pay it off because it somehow managed to legally be located on property that was in a mortgage for my mother/step-father. They finally un-did the mortgage snafu and everything was clear to sign next week. My aunt (who I swear is on drugs or medication or has simply lost her mind) sent an email detailing a few things that needed to happen before we sign. Most were simple things - she left a vase here that she wanted. The biggest thing was the storm shelter. The house (in tornado alley) doesn't have a storm shelter. All the land on our street qualified for storm shelters with a government refund of 75%. The original (verbal) agreement was that they would write the check for the storm shelter (4,000) and we would give them 1,000. They knew they would have to wait for the refund but would get the other 3,000 back. Since the storm shelter (and house) is still in their name, they are (legally) the only ones who can receive the refund. We are set to close next week, turning over a substantial (to me anyway) amount of money and they decided that we need to pay for the storm shelter and then they will send us the refund money when it comes back. The problem is that I don't have an extra 4,000 to do this. Plus, I have no guarantee they would send me the money when it came in (and, they are in poor health, if they die then the money would go to their estate, not me). In my opinion, we are giving them WAY more than 4,000 by paying it off and they should be happy to go ahead and honor their original agreement. Their lawyer called to discuss it with me and I told him that I could give them the bulk of the money next week, but if I had to pay for the storm shelter, it would be several months for me to come up with enough money to finish paying off the house. He told me that was not an option. When I asked why, he said that it would mess up the taxes (which I already pay for). I told him I didn't understand and he told me it was rather confusing, but we couldn't delay the closing for a few months. Now that I feel backed in a corner, (and being taken advantage of), I told him that I wasn't going to sign anything and we'd just continue making our monthly payments. (The money is drawing interest in the bank, so why not?). He said again that the closing had to happen, at the latest, by the end of the month. Since I really don't understand any of this, I told him I was getting my own lawyer to help me understand it. This should be SO simple. I only want to pay off the house (they hold the mortgage). It's of NO benefit to me to pay it off and every benefit to them. (There's no interest). Why do people need to make things complicated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Huh- sounds fishy... House closings don't go through all the time - what is it about this one that would mean you could never close again? The only things that jump to mind are "bad things" - like they haven't paid past-due property taxes and if the closing isn't done within a month & taxes brought up-to-date the state will repossess the house, or something strange like that. I think you definitely need to hire your own lawyer & have the two communicate - he sure ought to be able to explain it adequately enough to YOUR lawyer that yours can tell you whether to proceed or not. I would be absolutely sure to get everything in lawyery-writing at this point (yes, I know it's not a word! lol) and nailed down tight. I would want a specific contract written out about the storm cellar and what was involved in that. Better to spend the money to pay a lawyer to represent you now than to regret it later!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 BTW - the guarantee that they would pay you back money would be an in-writing promissory note (or something like that) and you would be a creditor to their estate, so the money would go to you... I think... which is why you need a lawyer to get it all written up right!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Can you just deduct $4,000 from what you are paying them in order to pay the note off (noting in the closing paperwork that it was for a storm shelter allowance)? Then they keep the refund and it all would even out. It definitely sounds weird and I would ask a lawyer to represent you to make sure everything goes through on he up and up, especially after the snafu with the mortgage before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcarolinamom Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Yes, yes, yes! You need an attorney to protect your side of the family. :iagree: The above posters stated everything perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 You need a lawyer ASAP. I would not sign any papers or hand over any more money without a lawyer on your side. The whole thing from the start sounds fishy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 Can you just deduct $4,000 from what you are paying them in order to pay the note off (noting in the closing paperwork that it was for a storm shelter allowance)? Then they keep the refund and it all would even out. It definitely sounds weird and I would ask a lawyer to represent you to make sure everything goes through on he up and up, especially after the snafu with the mortgage before. I sent an email asking that question but they said that I should talk to their lawyer about how much to pay. (He was asking me how much was left owing). At this point, I'm annoyed. I'm sitting here with the cash to pay it off and nobody seems interested. I'm getting a lawyer and will be making my monthly payment until AFTER the storm shelter is installed. My money can sit and grow interest while they figure it out. Plus, I'm amazed that I'm being told that I must close by the end of the month. I have signed nothing about closing by the end of the month. It's just weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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