1-2-2002
DEAR JHDWIFE:
You certainly have a unique situation!
(1) Have you checked with the probate court at the county courthouse to make absolutely sure that no one (an attorney or some other family member) has filed to be administrator of her estate? It seems odd that no estate has been opened for this lady if she owned property.
(2) Is there any way you could visit the house (at the last known address where you sent the certified letter) to see if a relative or family member still lives there or whether they have rented it out to someone else? Was the letter stamped officially in ink with "RETURNED TO SENDER" by the post office because the addressee no longer lived there and no forwarding address available, or was the RETURNED TO SENDER notation handwritten by the resident who you think deliberately was trying to refuse your payment?
You should discuss this situation with a local real estate attorney or real estate agent or business law attorney to find out what your options are.
Unless there is some other explanation, I'm afraid it appears that the family may have improperly decided not to accept your payments anymore so that they can try to keep ownership of the house for themselves. Therefore, in order to protect the equity you have in the home, you may need to hire an attorney to file a claim in court (probate court or civil court) to decide/establish/enforce your right to continue making payments until the contract is paid in full, or whether the family can buy you out by refunding your payments if they want to keep the house.
Make sure you have kept copies of your past payments/cancelled checks so you can prove your payment history to the court, if need be. Does the owner-finance contract mention anything about what would happen if the seller defaults or in the event of her death?
What is the value of the remaining payments you must make?
It would be best if you could somehow find a way to locate and contact or speak directly with the surviving heirs first, so you can find out what there intentions are before resorting to legal action. If you need assistance in locating them, I do nationwide people locate searches for $60.00 (US POST OFFICE MONEY ORDER ONLY), and if interested, send me an e-mail directly to the address shown below that mentions the decedent and the month/year she died and city/state she died in.
Your name can not be added to the title until the mortgage is paid off in full.
SINCERELY,
advisor
[email protected]
