Verbal Agreenent on land property purchase

[William Daniels]

Missouri

 

[justalayman]

In most cases, the sale of real estate requires a written contract. There can be some exceptions thiugh

So, toss out some info and see where this goes

 

[William Daniels]

My neighbor has land and has made a verbal agreement on a peace of property that he owns to me in exchange for ground maintenance on the rest that he owns. There is old outbuilding that need work I have been working on the land for 4 years And 1-outbuilding is part of the deal but needs alot of work its falling apart.Ihave put over $7,000.00 so far into maintenance and repairs should i get something in writing and if so what forms wood be good neither one of us really have alot of funds thanks for your time in this matter.

 

[justalayman]

You really need this to be in writing.

It would be best to have a contract written by a lawyer but if that isn’t possible, you need to write down as accurately as possible what your agreement is

I would make sure the area of land you are purchasing is also defined as accurately as possible

 

[adjusterjack]

should i get something in writing

You should have gotten it in writing before you started.

My neighbor has land and has made a verbal agreement on a peace of property that he owns to me in exchange for ground maintenance on the rest that he owns.

I can almost predict what will happen when you ask him to put it in writing or deed you that piece that he promised.

 

[Litigator22]

My neighbor has land and has made a verbal agreement on a peace of property that he owns to me in exchange for ground maintenance on the rest that he owns. There is old outbuilding that need work I have been working on the land for 4 years And 1-outbuilding is part of the deal but needs alot of work its falling apart.Ihave put over $7,000.00 so far into maintenance and repairs should i get something in writing and if so what forms wood be good neither one of us really have alot of funds thanks for your time in this matter.

Here is the reason people are telling you that you should've had the verbal agreement reduced to a written contract and signed by the owner before investing your time and money:

"No action shall be brought to charge any person upon any agreement made . . . for the sale of lands . . . unless the agreement upon which the action shall be brought, or some memorandum or note thereof, shall be in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith . . . or their authorized agent . . ." (See: Missouri Laws Section 432.010 (RSMo) - Statute of frauds — contracts to be in writing.)

What you haven't been told is that you do have legal recourse to recoup some of your time, money and effort should the owner refuses to honor the oral agreement. If interested, ask?

 

[izzie02]

If he dies next week how will you prove his intentions to gift you the land. Just because you made improvements won't mean anything. You really need a real estate lawyer for some kind of contract. Any heirs that would fight over this? Your agreement is as good as the paper it's written on. There are all sorts of ways this won't work out well for you.

 

[Litigator22]

If he dies next week how will you prove his intentions to gift you the land. (?) Just because you made improvements won't mean anything.(?) . . .

Nonsense! The fact that the OP has added value to the property - WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT OF THE OWNER - DOES indeed mean something! A great deal of something!

You would do well to study the laws of restitution. In particular the subjects: quantum meruit/unjust enrichment and estoppel in pais!

Furthermore, your use of the word "gift" is your own invention. Quid pro quo is the proper characterization; to-wit: ". . .

. in exchange for . . .

 

[not2cleverRed]

Nonsense! The fact that the OP has added value to the property - WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT OF THE OWNER - DOES indeed mean something! A great deal of something!

You would do well to study the laws of restitution. In particular the subjects: quantum meruit/unjust enrichment and estoppel in pais!

Furthermore, your use of the word "gift" is your own invention. Quid pro quo is the proper characterization; to-wit: ". . .

You are assuming, of course, that there is proof that William's efforts weren't just neighborly, weren't compensated and that those efforts actually "added value to the property".

William's description of the property in vague, unknown size and includes a ramshackle "outbuilding" - so, a piece of land with only a falling apart barn or shed in it. He has not elaborated on how he calculates $7K in his own money spent on "maintenance and repairs", and we don't know if he can prove that he spent it - does he have receipts? $7K could be impressive - or laughable, depending on the property in question.

That said, William's question was what should he do to formalize his arrangement with his neighbor in a legally recognizable way. He has made no indication that his neighbor is less than honorable, only that neither have much money - or at least, not enough to retain the services of @Litigator22 (should @Litigator22 happened to be licensed to practice law in Missouri). William is aware that a verbal agreement can be hard to prove, should anything happen to the owner of record. Izzie need not remind him of that.

William should search for "How to Transfer Real Property Property in Missouri" or "Property Agreement Sale by Owner Missouri". He and the owner should also look over the current deed and go to their local registry of deeds and see if there are any forms that may be useful to their situation, especially as sometimes different areas have their own quirks.