Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Contract Law relating to a multi-unit property purchase

Scenario: Two people purchase a multi-unit property under a gentlemen's/ handshake agreement at 50% each. Only one person is on title and on the mortgage. After a year of working mutually together; disagreement occurs and the building has since been managed and run by the person on title.

Questions:

What liability does the non-title party have to the property?

What rights does the non-title party have to paid down payment? Property improvements and Mortgage premiums paid?


Asked on 3/25/08, 11:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nicholas Chrisos Nicholas G. Chrisos Attorney at Law

Re: Contract Law relating to a multi-unit property purchase

I guess I don't need to tell you at this point that handshake deals are a bad idea. You may be able to sue your former "partner" on the handshake partnership if you can show what you paid and what the deal was. Odds are he will testify that the deal was different, so it becomes a "he said/he said" situation. In that case, ultimately it depends on who's the more believable witness. But you stand a decent chance of at least getting the money back that you put in; because unless you gave your former partner a gift, it had to be a loan or investment.

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Answered on 3/31/08, 1:52 pm


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