Is a lien appropriate here?

[anavi8r]

This is a followup question to my recent posting:

We were going to buy a 4-bedroom house but it turned out the house only had 3 bedrooms. We cancelled the contract and are suing the seller to get our deposit back.

Here is the question: the seller has relisted the house and is doing well, while we can't buy another house because we need that deposit money to do it. I suggested putting a lien on the house to motivate the seller to resolve the dispute quickly, but my lawyer thinks it is not a good idea. It will cost me more in attorney fees, make me subject to what he calls "title slander", and this action would be hard to justify since we no longer want to buy the house and our deposit money is safe in the escrow anyway.

Any thoughts please?

Thanks.

 

[quincy]

This is a followup question to my recent posting:

We were going to buy a 4-bedroom house but it turned out the house only had 3 bedrooms. We cancelled the contract and are suing the seller to get our deposit back.

Here is the question: the seller has relisted the house and is doing well, while we can't buy another house because we need that deposit money to do it. I suggested putting a lien on the house to motivate the seller to resolve the dispute quickly, but my lawyer thinks it is not a good idea. It will cost me more in attorney fees, make me subject to what he calls "title slander", and this action would be hard to justify since we no longer want to buy the house and our deposit money is safe in the escrow anyway.

Any thoughts please?

Thanks.

You probably should listen to your attorney.

 

[quincy]

Here for the benefit of others is a link to your previous thread:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/a-missing-bedroom-in-the-house.664435/

 

[anavi8r]

You probably should listen to your attorney.

Need a second opinion.

 

[quincy]

I suggest you wait to get a judgment in your lawsuit. If you can’t collect on the judgment, then you can consider a lien.

 

[Taxing Matters]

This is a followup question to my recent posting:

We were going to buy a 4-bedroom house but it turned out the house only had 3 bedrooms. We cancelled the contract and are suing the seller to get our deposit back.

Here is the question: the seller has relisted the house and is doing well, while we can't buy another house because we need that deposit money to do it. I suggested putting a lien on the house to motivate the seller to resolve the dispute quickly, but my lawyer thinks it is not a good idea. It will cost me more in attorney fees, make me subject to what he calls "title slander", and this action would be hard to justify since we no longer want to buy the house and our deposit money is safe in the escrow anyway.

Any thoughts please?

Thanks.

As you don't yet have a judgment against the seller is your basis for the lien? You may not file a lien on someone else's property over a simple money dispute until you get a judgement from the court. Doing so anyway does indeed open you to a claim of title slander, which could be costly to you if it affects the seller's ability to sell the property or adversely affects the seller's credit (credit bureaus routinely scoop up local court and property records and add them to their database). So I think you want to follow the advice of your lawyer here. Paying for legal advice you don't intend to follow anyway is a waste of money. I get that you are eager to get the deposit back so you may proceed with your house search and purchase but jumping the gun and filing a lien before you have a court judgment in your favor may well back fire on you.

 

[quincy]

New Jersey slander of title:
https://casetext.com/case/peters-well-drilling-co-v-hanzula#:~:text=The tort of slander of,special damages." %Lone v.

Enforcing a judgment:
https://www.njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/forms/11383_ht_enforce_jdgmnt.pdf

Although it is often smart to get second opinions, your attorney appears to be steering you in the right direction. Good luck with your civil action.

 

[anavi8r]

Thank you all for responding.

 

[quincy]

Thank you all for responding.

We appreciate the thanks, anavi8r, so thank you.

 

[zddoodah]

Any thoughts please?

I think you should follow your lawyer's advice and not seek to use opinions by anonymous strangers on the internet (many of whom may not be lawyers and who probably aren't in your unidentified state) to second-guess your lawyer.

 

[quincy]

… your unidentified state) …

The state is New Jersey. Clues abound in this thread but the link to the previous thread also provides the name of the state.