Homeowner · Elgin, TX · Member since 2012 · 2 posts · 0 votes
I purchased property and a mobile home from my step-father with owner financing. The following month he passed away. The mobile home was originally purchased by my father and brother for my step father and mother after their home burned down. My father wanted to stay out of the picture so my brother arranged to have the home delivered with the title in his name. It's been approximately 10 years since and the title was never transferred so my brother claims that he owns the home and is trying to benefit from my fathers good will. Does anyone know how to legally get this remedied? I expect I have to file something in court but I'm not sure where to begin. Any help is greatly appreciated.
How much do you have invested in this? This will be a nightmare to sort out, and not sure which way it would go without more info and research (which I don't have time to do....) Anyway, generally speaking - the title is a public record proof of who owns the property. There are ways to defeat that, but not sure it would work in this situation. Your remedy would be to sue your brother (to argue he should not be legal owner), or sue your step-father's estate (to argue he didn't have right to sell to you and he owes you the money - but then you didn't get title so you should've known better - and then where does this leave your mother....) - no-win situation if you ask me....
Linda, Sounds like your step-father (SF) sold something that he did
not have title to. In Texas, installment contracts where a buyer buys from a seller with an existing mortgage (called Subject to) must be done in a very specific way to be an enforceable contract and I bet your contract was not if it was thought just to be among family members. And, it sounds like your father and brother simply helped your SF and mom out of a bad situation unless there was some written arrangement for them to buy the property.
If you have been paying something on that contract for 10 years, I'd suggest you get with your father and convince him to do what is fair under your contract as intended.
If you have some blood fued going on, you can get an attorney to review the situation and you may have some options.....but seems to me your father is the best route to solve your problem. Good luck!
Bill,
The property was given as a gift and my brother thought he gave them the title...and turns out he didn't. My parents were told the home was theirs for years but without the title being transferred is there anyway to prove the gift??? Unfortunately my father has also passed on and can't verify that he's the one that paid for the home. My brother was just the middle man making the delivery and never followed through with the transfer.
He had accepted the agreement I had with my stepfather and accepted payments for the property and now has had a change of heart.
Jon,
Yes I have documentation of payments. I have been making payments to the mortgage co. and to my brother ( the one mentioned with the title ) and he gave a portion to 2 other brothers - which to me, confirms that the property was not his and divided among the heirs. They obviously agreed to the agreement by accepting payments. The money wasn't coming fast enough and the one brother decided he would use the title to take the home on the fact that he never transferred the title.
FYI - He did the same with a vehicle. When my mother died her life insurance paid $50k to my stepfather. He trusted my brother to help him handle his finances so he put the money in an account under my brothers name and then paid his bills with it. My brother purchased a truck for my stepfather with his insurance money but kept the truck title in his name. Originally he took the truck after my step fathers death and said it was for any equity in the trailer he gave them. Then gave the truck to his daughter. Now he's saying the truck was really paid by him with his money. Seems to be a pattern. Did the same with my Dad. Had money transferred to his accounts before Dad died of cancer.
How much do you have invested in this? This will be a nightmare to sort out, and not sure which way it would go without more info and research (which I don't have time to do....) Anyway, generally speaking - the title is a public record proof of who owns the property. There are ways to defeat that, but not sure it would work in this situation. Your remedy would be to sue your brother (to argue he should not be legal owner), or sue your step-father's estate (to argue he didn't have right to sell to you and he owes you the money - but then you didn't get title so you should've known better - and then where does this leave your mother....) - no-win situation if you ask me....