Title Defamation and Illegal Intimidation

[Magus Ahnend]

Location: Beckley, WV 25801

Hi, I could really use insight from anyone familiar with WV real estate law, seller financing, or just plain legal intimidation.

Here’s what happened:

---

📅 Timeline of Events

May 2022 — I purchased a home in Beckley, West Virginia (Raleigh County) from a private individual via seller financing. and I’ll refer to her as The Seller.

The sale price was $80,000, and the transaction was handled by a licensed attorney and title agency—I believe the financing was done as a land contract, though I was never given a traditional mortgage note or bank paperwork.

Both I and a former partner (Co-Borrower) were listed on the Warranty Deed, and we paid $3,000 down at closing.

About 8 months later, Co-Borrower and I split. He moved out and relinquished interest.

---

🧾 The Quitclaim Deed

In April 2024, I paid the same attorney and title firm that handled the original closing to draft and record a Quitclaim Deed.

The document removed Co-Borrower from the title and granted sole ownership to me.

The deed was properly signed, notarized, and recorded at the Raleigh County Clerk’s office.

It does not reference any mortgage, deed of trust, or lien—and I’ve confirmed none is recorded.

I’ve maintained the home, made payments, paid taxes, and treated it as mine since then.

---

🚩 What’s Happening Now (July 2025)

I listed the home for sale this month with a licensed real estate agent.

Within days, my Realtor got a phone call from The Seller and her attorney—a man based in Wyoming County, not Raleigh. I’ll refer to him as The Attorney.

They told her:

The title is invalid

The quitclaim deed is illegal

There is a foreclosure “in progress” (but there’s nothing filed anywhere)

And that she is not allowed to sell the home on my behalf

The Realtor was so unnerved she pulled the listing from the MLS.

No one has served me with papers. There’s no court case, no lis pendens, no trustee filing, and no notice of default.

---

🎙️ I Have a Recording

I recorded a phone call where the Realtor tells me everything:

That she was contacted by The Seller and The Attorney,

That they are trying to block the sale with no actual legal mechanism,

That The Attorney told her I wasn’t legally allowed to sell it,

And that The Seller is calling everyone directly—even though she supposedly has legal counsel.

---

❓ My Questions

1. Is this legal? Can a seller and their attorney just phone-call their way into stopping a valid titleholder from listing their property?

2. If no foreclosure has been filed, and no Deed of Trust exists, what power do they even have?

3. Can a properly recorded Quitclaim Deed, prepared by the same attorney as the original sale, be retroactively challenged like this?

4. My Realtor is afraid to re-list—do I have grounds for a complaint? Or for civil action (like slander of title or tortious interference)?

5. Has anyone dealt with rural WV seller financing like this? Are there quirks I don’t know about?

---

🔐 Why This Feels Off

I feel like they know they have no standing—so they’re going after my Realtor and sabotaging the sale through pressure and confusion. I’m trying to sell my home legally, and I’m being strangled by intimidation with no official action or filings behind it.

If this is how property rights work, then I’m floored.

Any guidance appreciated. Thanks.

[Chris Seveney]

"You believe it was a contract for deed" that's an important thing to understand what your loan documents are. Without it we can't answer but if it was a contract for deed you would not have received a warranty deed since you would not own the property

 But if it is a contract for deed the seller will have to allow you to sell it as long as the funds you are selling it for payoff the loan with them. 

My recommendation is get an attorney