Bad loan

[Blackmel95]

Ohio.
Loan gone bad
I was working a real estate deal with two individuals who owned a contracting company. We were going to flip a house. They needed capital (down payment) in order to secure the financing to complete the purchase and the rehab of the property. The total was $15,000. They signed a contract that stated that they would pay that money back immediately after the bank released funds for the rehab and that they would also pay 50% of the proceeds from the flip. They money was supposed to be used specifically for the down payment of that specific property as laid out in the contract. If that property was not purchased then the money would be returned. Well these two individuals lied to the finance company and was not able to obtain financing for the home. When I discovered that the deal was not going to go through, I asked them for the money back. They agreed to return it the next day and then stopped returning phone calls and texts. I sent them via email a formal request to return the money in which they replied that they didn't want to do business with me anymore and that they were going to complete the deal with someone else and return my money at that time. What is my remedy for getting my money back? Most of the money I lent was borrowed from investors so I'm in a bad spot. I don't have a lot of money for an attorney so how do I go about suing them or filing charges?

 

[Taxing Matters]

Ohio.
What is my remedy for getting my money back? Most of the money I lent was borrowed from investors so I'm in a bad spot. I don't have a lot of money for an attorney so how do I go about suing them or filing charges?

Your remedy is to sue them for the money. The problem you have is that in Ohio small claims court cases are limited to $3,000. That means you have to sue in either municipal or county court. Those courts may hear cases up to $15,000. The rules for those courts are more complex than for small claims court, however so it might be a good idea to get some help from an attorney. If you want to do it yourself, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the Ohio rules of civil procedure as a starting point. You’ll find those here: https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/LegalResources/Rules/civil/CivilProcedure.pdf

 

[adjusterjack]

Most of the money I lent was borrowed from investors so I'm in a bad spot.

Do your investors know you used their money?

Did they ever consent for you to use their money for that purpose?

 

[latigo]

Ohio.
Loan gone bad
I was working a real estate deal with two individuals who owned a contracting company. We were going to flip a house. They needed capital (down payment) in order to secure the financing to complete the purchase and the rehab of the property. The total was $15,000. They signed a contract that stated that they would pay that money back immediately after the bank released funds for the rehab and that they would also pay 50% of the proceeds from the flip. They money was supposed to be used specifically for the down payment of that specific property as laid out in the contract. If that property was not purchased then the money would be returned. Well these two individuals lied to the finance company and was not able to obtain financing for the home. When I discovered that the deal was not going to go through, I asked them for the money back. They agreed to return it the next day and then stopped returning phone calls and texts. I sent them via email a formal request to return the money in which they replied that they didn't want to do business with me anymore and that they were going to complete the deal with someone else and return my money at that time. What is my remedy for getting my money back? Most of the money I lent was borrowed from investors so I'm in a bad spot. I don't have a lot of money for an attorney so how do I go about suing them or filing charges?

You must be terribly naive to think that a bank would loan these con artists the money needed to acquire title to the land, plus enough to cover some yet to be determined construction costs AND in a lump sum AND do so understanding that $7.5k is to come of the top to reimburse you!

The only people more gullible might be your "investors". And you'd better pray that they weren't laundering their money because those people don't fuss with lawyers and lawsuits.

And what makes you think that these people are going to admit that the $15k was a loan and not an investment? It may be that your "signed contract" is solid enough to support a cause of action, but you don't have the wherewithal of conducting a lawsuit. It ain't no walk in the park, pal!

You've been given to believe that you can learn how to try a lawsuit by studying Ohio's Rules of Civil Procedure. Well let me clue you about the Rules of Civil Procedure. In law school the course is known to create "bridge jumpers"!

Then there's the Ohio Rules of Evidence of which you couldn't acquire a working knowledge if you spent the next year solid studying them. And just suppose that by some unforeseen miracle everything fell in place and you obtained a judgment. How do you think you could collect it? These birds know the ropes. Its not their first rodeo nor their last. But they sure aren't going to leave anything sitting around that their creditors can lay their hands on.

Criminal fraud? That's a no no. A prosecutor would kick it back in your lap as a civil matter. You knew the "deal" fell through, but instead of complaining to the police authorities you treated it as an indebtedness. Is like a merchant holding a bad check. If he promptly turns it over to the fraud detectives, fine. But not so if starts dunning the maker for payment.