$100,000 piece of land being held hostage by neighbor

[minniti17]

Texas, I am attempting to purchase 3 acres in Texas for $130,000 and want to develop it. It will be worth roughly $550,000-$600,000 when I am done. The problem is the person who I am buying it from never got a re-plat done when he bought it 20 years ago. In order to build anything on this property it needs a permit. The city will not grant a permit unless it has been re-plated.

The original seller, we will call him Charles. Sold this 3 acres to a man named James 20 years ago. It is a law that land is cut out of an already platted subdivision and must be replated to be sold. This was never done. And Charles received $100,000 for the land but did not sign a re-plat.

James has asked him numerous times to sign and Charles refuses because he does not want any houses built around his. Charles is essentially holding the land hostage. He has control over it without owning it.

I want to get a judge to sign something saying we can go around Charles. Or I can litigate the matter, as it is worth it if I am able to develop the property. I offered some attorneys in my area 10% of gross proceeds (55-60k) from the developed land if they would represent me and we win.

Does anyone have any insight into this matter? The attorneys here seem to be lost and do not have any idea where to start

 

[Zigner]

You have no standing. You will need James to take care of this matter.

 

[AlmostThere]

You say that the attorneys here seem to be lost. What do you mean? What did they say?

 

[quincy]

Texas, …I offered some attorneys in my area 10% of gross proceeds (55-60k) from the developed land if they would represent me and we win. …

If you offer some attorneys money upfront as a retainer for their services they might be interested enough in your plight to research your options. A promise to them of possible compensation in the future for their time, effort and monetary investment now is not much incentive for an attorney.

Aa a note: Personal injury attorneys who often take cases on a contingency basis will typically ask for 33%.

 

[adjusterjack]

The attorneys here seem to be lost and do not have any idea where to start

That's a nice way of telling you that they aren't going to take a case on a contingency that there is no chance of winning.

If the sale of the property is important enough to James, it's James that will have to litigate against to get the property replatted.

 

[zddoodah]

I offered some attorneys in my area 10% of gross proceeds (55-60k) from the developed land if they would represent me and we win.

I'd be extremely surprised if any attorney would agree to such a speculative arrangement.

Does anyone have any insight into this matter?

Find a different piece of property to develop.

The attorneys here seem to be lost. . . .

Out of curiosity, whereabouts in Texas are you looking?

 

[quincy]

… Find a different piece of property to develop. …

Finding a different piece of property to purchase seems like the smartest option. There is an awful lot of vacant land for sale in Texas that doesn’t come with the complications.

 

[LdiJ]

James really is going to need to sue Charles though. I doubt that James intended to sit on the land forever and I doubt that his heirs will want to do so either. Plus, I suspect that the longer it takes to get the problem resolved the more clouded the title will become.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Texas, I am attempting to purchase 3 acres in Texas for $130,000 and want to develop it

Your basic problem here is this: attempting to buy a piece of property does not give any legal interest in the property. You have no ownership or other right in the property that is at risk or that is being damaged because of this. All that's happening here is that you aren't able to do the transaction you want to do because of the plat problem. While I sympathize with your frustration, you won't get anywhere suing someone over this because, bottom line, none of the people involved here owe you anything or have caused you any damages. Charles has no legal obligation to sign off on the plat, and there isn't a legal basis for a court to force him to do so. So your options are pretty limited. You either find an attorney who knows of a procedure to get the permission you need to build without Charles having to agree to it (in my state you'd be out of luck, but perhaps there is something in Texas law that would allow you to get around the plat requirement), come up with some cash or something else that will get Charles to change his mind, or you look for a new investment.