owner/seller contract

i live in a small town in nevada and my husband and i have purchased a home that the seller is holding the loan. here's my story..kinda long, sorry. ok, 3/00 we signed a contract that she, the seller, wrote and apparently was happy with. since then we have made our payments on time, every time, and have been giving above that toward the down payment. so far we've given $4325 towards the $7000 down agreed upon. now the contract states this is a sale, payments are agreed upon, and that she is willing to hold the loan until we are able to get a loan through somewhere else. there is no time limit on when we have to have our own loan and she has known that i have been researching this to find the best option. i have a good chance now to get a loan and now her ideas are changing. she is now saying that she will need more than the original $7000 down agreed upon, in fact she will need $7000 above what we have already paid. she also now says that we have just been renting from her until there is an actual loan done. our contract, that she wrote, doesnt say this at all. in fact is very specific that we are buying the house from her. we have already agreed to pay all of the closing costs and fees when we do get our loan, its my understanding that the seller usually does. im getting kinda nervous, we have put alot of cash, energy, improvements, and you name it into this home and she is driving us insane! every week or so she calls asking for more money, we give her $800 a month, pay all the taxes, garbage, insurance, ect. how much more can we give her? and still afford to get the loan? help! mel

[HomeGuru]

Your loan is based on cashing her out so that the property is yours in title and not based on how much you paid to her. I suggest you get with a mortgage broker and start the loan application process. If the appraisal comes out and your credit/income checks out, you should be able to close within 30-45 days.

Most states have preprinted forms that you can get from any title company or mortgage lender for real estate contracts sometimes called a land contract. This is when you put down a payment to the seller and agree to pay for a certain period of time.
Sounds like you or the seller wrote your own. Bad idea!
Some buyers do not realise that their $800 per month paid is not $800 paid on the loan principal balance. Most of this will be interest.
Since you are paying the taxes, I assume you are not on a lease option.
You need to have someone look at your contract. You need to talk to a real estate attorney.
Maybe the moprtgage loan officer could look at it and figure it out.
Get off that contract with the seller as soon as you can --The title will legally stay in the sellers name until they are paid in full either by you, or through a new loan from the mortgage lender.
About closing costs: In WA state and probably the same elsewhere, both buyer and seller normally pay closing costs. Each have their own items to pay.

A true ky. scenario. sold home contract for deed. upon one year final payment. sold home to two parties not married but living together. agent said fine people buying your home and that she had checked them out. 6 months passed and then no payment in mail. Checked house and house empty. Now my contract states if buyers miss payment over 30 days the property reverts back to us. I called the real estate company that handled the closing and ask to see the agent. The agent had quit two weeks after contract was signed. Next stop my house. I kepted a key but was told by local law firm be careful when entering (if one or both of parties their can not enter by ky. law). As luck was with us no one home. If they had been their foreclosure on our parts which meant a six month wait and I would have to buy back my property at court house door. Now i turned to the computer to find these people. I received 5 % down + plus closing cost from buyers. I found another problem here in Ky. about the law and foreclosure. I called frankfort and found this law after several days searching. the law firm did not disclose this law at signing. After one year, a lot of money to law firm we now have the property back in our names. Never, but never enter into a (private contract) with anyone. Their could be hidden laws. Find a good lawyer to handle this matter.

thanks for everyones input. my husband and i are meeting with an attorney this week. i will never do this again, too much headache. its not my fault this person cant handle her finances, we agreed on a price, signed a contract, and i have kept my end of the bargain to a "t". wish us luck, everyone ive talked to have said we really dont have anything to worry about, still.... anyway, thanks again, mel