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Previous owner still has home equity on house I'm buying

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emeraldgirl

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?
Texas


Bought a house, by owner (paying the previous owner a monthly note) in 2004. At that time the previous owner had a home equity loan on the house. They reassured me the loan would be paid off within 1yr. To this day it has not been paid.

Is there anything I can do to force them to pay it off?
 


seniorjudge

Senior Member
What is the name of your state?
Texas


Bought a house, by owner (paying the previous owner a monthly note) in 2004. At that time the previous owner had a home equity loan on the house. They reassured me the loan would be paid off within 1yr. To this day it has not been paid.

Is there anything I can do to force them to pay it off?
What do you mean you bought it?

Did you get a deed?

Did you get title insurance?

What do you mean they "reassured" that the loan would be paid off?

Do you have anything in writing?
 

PghREA

Senior Member
How did this home equity loan get past the closing company?

You did have a title search - right?

If you do have a deed to this home - and the owner does not pay off the home equity and he defaults - you know who they coming after - right?
 

LindaP777

Senior Member
Surely he means he's got a lease with option or some sort of land contract, right???
And he hasn't really bought the house yet, right???
And the deed is still in the sellers name . . .
I sure hope so.
 

emeraldgirl

Junior Member
Answers to questions

Thank you for your quick responses. Here are some of the answers to your questions:


What do you mean you bought it?
In 2004 entered into a residential contract for 30years. The seller is the previous owner and the buyer is me.

Did you get a deed?
Yes, the deed is in my name

Did you get title insurance?
No

What do you mean they "reassured" that the loan would be paid off?
The previous owner was a family friend, therefore I did not request for anything in writing (I know..very naive), it was a verbal agreement.

Do you have anything in writing?
Unfortunately no


To this date they have not defaulted on making payments. I just want this lien of my house.
 

nextwife

Senior Member
Uh, you know when you do this PROPERLY, using title insurance and a closing agent, the mortgages, liens and judgements that appear of record are paid off at the closing.

You both did this wrong - you should not have been delivered the deed until the seller was paid in full (or they took back a mortgage for the balance they were due), and you should not have paid for a place that you have no idea whether the "sellers" were in a position to deliver "good title". I tell people all the time: I wouldn't buy a house from my own mother without first doing a title search. Why? Not that mom would lie to me, but because mom and most other people have no clue about what impacts title, how their title is held, what their legal description is, and what all the matters that "run with the land (such as easements and deed restrictions) may be. And I'd sure as heck NEVER buy a house from a friend, relative or stranger without title insurance FIRST.
 

Gadfly

Senior Member
Believe NextWife!

I just fixed a deal where the true owner and another previously unknown and UNRELATED person had the same legal name. The other person lost a case in court and had a judgement palced against him. The courst mistakently placed a the judgement against the property owner. He had NO idea!

That is why there must always be a title search.
 

lcannister

Senior Member
It NEVER ceases to amaze me that people will not spend the money to protect such an expensive investment. Now how much might it cost you in order to keep the home IF or WHEN the person decides, "what the hell am I doing, let them take billyjoebob's house"?

How much is the home equity loan anyway?

And even more importantly since you did not take care of business properly, what else is out there you have not found yet? AND I hope you do not want to sell soon or the burden to pay this lien off will be on your shoulders if this person can not cough up the balance.
 

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