• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Broken Agreement

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

citrusfruit2

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? North Carolina


In March of last year, I entered into an oral agreement with my father regarding a house he owns. As per our agreement, I would rent the house from him (paying roughly half the total mortgage payment to the company) and make repairs/improvements to the property. At the time we made the agreement, it was also agreed upon that he would refinance the house and then add me to the deed within a few months. I began making my portion of the payments to the company the following month and in May of '05 I took out a $10,000 loan to go towards repairs and improvements on the house, including having a heat pump/AC unit installed and having the roof & ceiling of the house repaired. In July of last year, I began to routinely ask when he was going to uphold his part of the agreement, to which I was always told "soon". It has now been over a year since we entered the agreement and he has not upheld his part. Furthermore, I have been told he has no intentions of doing so and according to him we had never agreed on that. I would like to add I have faithfully been on time with all the payments (and have not received any credit for the amount of money I have put into the house improvements and repairs) and I have made several improvements to the house, although there is still much work to be done.

I have the following questions:

1. What rights do I have as a tenant with only an oral agreement in regards to the eviction process should it come to that?
2. Is there any way I can recover some or all of the expenses of the loan, since the loan was taken out do to an agreement that has been broken? (Or would it possibly fall under false pretenses?)
3. What rights do I have when it comes to selling things I have paid for in the house, such as the refrigerator and the heat pump unit?
4. If my father allows the house to go into foreclosure and doesn't tell me, what rights will I have as far as the bank is concerned (as far as having time to try to find somewhere else to live versus having to immediately vacate the property)?

Edited to clarify and add: This is not the house in which my father lives. He lives elsewhere with his girlfriend. Also, in the above I mentioned the house still needed a lot of work. The work needed includes total electrical rewiring to bring it up to electrical code and other building repairs to bring it up to building code.
 
Last edited:


seniorjudge

Senior Member
citrusfruit2 said:
What is the name of your state? North Carolina


In March of last year, I entered into an oral agreement with my father regarding a house he owns. As per our agreement, I would rent the house from him (paying roughly half the total mortgage payment to the company) and make repairs/improvements to the property. At the time we made the agreement, it was also agreed upon that he would refinance the house and then add me to the deed within a few months. I began making my portion of the payments to the company the following month and in May of '05 I took out a $10,000 loan to go towards repairs and improvements on the house, including having a heat pump/AC unit installed and having the roof & ceiling of the house repaired. In July of last year, I began to routinely ask when he was going to uphold his part of the agreement, to which I was always told "soon". It has now been over a year since we entered the agreement and he has not upheld his part. Furthermore, I have been told he has no intentions of doing so and according to him we had never agreed on that. I would like to add I have faithfully been on time with all the payments (and have not received any credit for the amount of money I have put into the house improvements and repairs) and I have made several improvements to the house, although there is still much work to be done.

I have the following questions:

1. What rights do I have as a tenant with only an oral agreement in regards to the eviction process should it come to that?
2. Is there any way I can recover some or all of the expenses of the loan, since the loan was taken out do to an agreement that has been broken? (Or would it possibly fall under false pretenses?)
3. What rights do I have when it comes to selling things I have paid for in the house, such as the refrigerator and the heat pump unit?
4. If my father allows the house to go into foreclosure and doesn't tell me, what rights will I have as far as the bank is concerned (as far as having time to try to find somewhere else to live versus having to immediately vacate the property)?

Edited to clarify and add: This is not the house in which my father lives. He lives elsewhere with his girlfriend. Also, in the above I mentioned the house still needed a lot of work. The work needed includes total electrical rewiring to bring it up to electrical code and other building repairs to bring it up to building code.

1. What rights do I have as a tenant with only an oral agreement in regards to the eviction process should it come to that?

A: You have the right to be evicted in compliance with your state's landlord-tenant laws.


2. Is there any way I can recover some or all of the expenses of the loan, since the loan was taken out do to an agreement that has been broken? (Or would it possibly fall under false pretenses?)

A: It depends on what you can prove; since you have nothing in writing, you are probably out of luck.


3. What rights do I have when it comes to selling things I have paid for in the house, such as the refrigerator and the heat pump unit?

A: The refrigerator is not part of the land; if it's yours, you can take it. The heat pump, if it's attached to the land, it is part of the land and you have lost that.


4. If my father allows the house to go into foreclosure and doesn't tell me, what rights will I have as far as the bank is concerned (as far as having time to try to find somewhere else to live versus having to immediately vacate the property)?

A: You have no rights under this scenario.
 

Who's Liable?

Senior Member
seniorjudge said:
3. What rights do I have when it comes to selling things I have paid for in the house, such as the refrigerator and the heat pump unit?

A: The refrigerator is not part of the land; if it's yours, you can take it. The heat pump, if it's attached to the land, it is part of the land and you have lost that.
If he still has the receipt for the Heat Pump, thereby proving he bought it, he can take it with him...
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top