QUESTION

Does she in fact have the ownership of that property or would the lady who has bill of sale?

Asked on Jul 12th, 2013 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Idaho
More details to this question:
I ran across a piece of property (little over one acre) with a trailer house in the country that really should have been condemned but after asking around I found who owned it and asked about fixing the place up and renting it. I was told sure thing and rent was $300 a month and would take off for repairs I did. I was told that if I wanted to buy the place she would take $10,000 and it would be mine. I fixed the place up completely and then started looking into buying the place. I couldn't get a loan because she did not have a deed to the place. I went to courthouse and found out that the place was actually in someone elseโ€™s name. There was a deed of trust signed in front of a notary where the place had been given to a daughter by her step dad. It had a stipulation at the end that said this piece of land could not be sold. Well I had a huge falling out with the lady I thought was the owner and ended up not talking to her or even paying rent for 19 months. During this time I could not locate the daughter. The lady ended up taking me to court to evict me and it was there that she produced a bill of sale for the same property by the same stepdad who had already given it to his stepdaughter. But it was not notarized and it was dated several years after the date on the deed of trust. I finally got hold of the daughter and she verified that her stepdad had indeed given her that place and she didn't even know her stepdad had then sold it later.
Report Abuse

4 ANSWERS

Business Law Attorney serving Bingham Farms, MI at James T. Weiner, P.C.
Update Your Profile
The daughter who was deeded the property has ownership the new lady (your landlord) has not interest in the property and should not have any right to evict you etc. There is one fact pattern that changes this, if the new lady (your landlord) "bought" the house more than 15 years ago and was evidencing ownership (paying taxes renting it etc) for that long. She could claim it under the doctrine of adverse possession.
Answered on Jul 16th, 2013 at 10:29 PM

Report Abuse
Litigation Attorney serving Bakersfield, CA at Dessy & Dessy
Update Your Profile
A deed transfers an ownership interest, and a deed of trust secures the loan repayment, allowing the lender to foreclose in the event of a loan default. Accordingly a deed of trust given by a step dad to the daughter, would suggest that the daughter loaned money to the step-dad, who remained the property owner. If in fact you meant to say that the daughter recorded a deed transferring ownership from the step dad to the daughter, then the daughter would be the owner, and the step-dad would not have the right to give anybody a bill of sale on the property he no longer own. As a general rule, a verbal agreement to sell real estate is not enforceable. Likewise a written agreement prohibiting the owner from selling property is unlikely to be enforceable. Finally, an agreement to purchase property from someone who is not the owner does not enforceable. The simplest solution is for you to try to get as much free rent as possible to offset the amount of your investment against the fair market rental value.
Answered on Jul 16th, 2013 at 10:28 PM

Report Abuse
It would appear that the daughter owns the property and that the restriction on it not being sold is invalid. The woman who bought it from the step dad bought something that he did not own.
Answered on Jul 16th, 2013 at 10:28 PM

Report Abuse
Commercial Contracts Attorney serving Boise, ID at Peters Law, PLLC
Update Your Profile
It doesn't sound like the bill of sale is sufficient to transfer the ownership of the land. It might be enough for the sale of the mobile home.
Answered on Jul 16th, 2013 at 10:13 AM

Report Abuse

Ask a Lawyer

Consumers can use this platform to pose legal questions to real lawyers and receive free insights.

Participating legal professionals get the opportunity to speak directly with people who may need their services, as well as enhance their standing in the Lawyers.com community.

0 out of 150 characters