Land Contract with Inlaws

[koritora3]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana
When my husband and I agreed to move to Indiana his parents found us a home that was apparently in foreclosure. They had us sign a land contract with them which stated that we would pay them a certain amount per month and then take over the mortgage ourselves in a year. It is to my detriment that I did not really look too closely at the matter because I honestly never expected to get screwed over by "family". Well, they are currently suing my husband and I for defaulting on the land contract. Problem is, we weren't in default until my husband filed for divorce and moved back in with his parents. Then, all of sudden they claim they weren't being paid and sent me a notice to this effect which I never saw because my husband signed for it and kept it from me. All of this being a strategy to A. Get me evicted from the house and B. Use as leverage in their son's divorce negotiations. (ie if I agree to a certain settlement with my husband then they would drop the default lawsuit) I told them to go ahead with it. I am now out of the house and my husband is back in plus his little brother. (which was the plan all along) However, the lawsuit is still in play and they want me to sign a quit claim deed in exchange for dropping the suit. Is it really legal for my husband to default on purpose? And does the fact that he now resides at the property in question mean anything? If they were to go forward with the suit (in which he is also named) would it not seem ridiculous that they moved one of the defendants back in the same week they evicted the other? I am trying to figure out if this lawsuit has any merit given the circumstances under which it was filed. I honestly don't think they want to go through with this and they want me to just walk away. (which is fine with me) But, I think they should be obligated to at least pay for the attorney fees I incurred for the two eviction hearings I had to be represented in.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

[FarmerJ]

curious ? first how many months were you and soon to be ex living in the house? Have you checked the records at the court house to see if the land contract was recorded ? See I have a hard time imagining that they had the right to sell it unless they paid cash for the house? If the land contract was recorded then I would tell you to sit tight and make him buy you out for your share of what ever equity gain there was during the time you were living in the house. You could have your divorce atty address it in the divorce action by requesting the court to order him to buy you out.

[koritora3]

Originally Posted by FarmerJ

curious ? first how many months were you and soon to be ex living in the house? Have you checked the records at the court house to see if the land contract was recorded ? See I have a hard time imagining that they had the right to sell it unless they paid cash for the house? If the land contract was recorded then I would tell you to sit tight and make him buy you out for your share of what ever equity gain there was during the time you were living in the house. You could have your divorce atty address it in the divorce action by requesting the court to order him to buy you out.

Let me tell you, the more I try and look into this "deal" the more confused I am. From what I can gather, they seem to have the mortgage but the property still comes up under the old owner's name. (the assessors office didn't seem to think this was unusual) The taxes came to the house in the old owner's name also. I've tried to trace the paper trail of this property, but keep getting deadended by various county and state offices. I don't really know how to go about such things. The bank they got the property from seems to have a shady reputation and don't even have a number that can be called for researching anything. If the land contract is legit and was recorded how does them suing us for default play into it? Does that mean if they drop the suit and he stays in the residence he will have to buy me out? What if they continue with the default and win? (they don't have a case against me for default since they orchestrated the circumstances of the whole thing with my husband so I don't think they'll press it) Sorry, we lived there as a couple for about 6 months. Then, I lived there alone for about 4 months. They had me evicted. Now, he and their other son have lived there for almost 2 months. The land contract was supposed to be from July 2008 - July 2009. I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of a land contract and the legality of this particular one. Thank you so much for responding. This particular case has too many facets to be covered by the real estate laws I've been trying to look up. Like I said, I would love to figure out how they pulled this thing together. When we moved in they acted like this place just fell into their laps (and they didn't know anything about the prior owners), but I'm starting to get the feeling they knew the previous owners and there's more going on here......Thanks again.