Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

my friend and i entered into a verbal contract regarding property. he was originaly going to be on the loan, but his credit was very poor. i paid all the taxes, down payments, and design/construction upgrades myself. he was supposed to pay me back. he was also to pay half of the monthly mortgage. i have all the documentation. he never repaid me and he also stopped paying the mortgage. we lost the home thru foreclosure early last year. i have calculated what he owes me to be in the area of $12,000.00 without interest and penalties. what can i do. the majority of this debt is still owed because of the loan i obtained from my deffered comp. everything else was cash savings. please help.


Asked on 6/10/10, 11:02 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Contracts regarding real property are required to be in writing. Nevertheless, if you can prove you paid him money, you have nothing to lose by suing to get it back. You can sue without a lawyer for up to $7500 in small claims court, which might be cost-effective for you compared to the cost of hiring a lawyer to sue for more.

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Answered on 6/10/10, 2:07 pm
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

Contracts to transfer an interest in real property must be in writing to be enforceable, in California's version of the statute of frauds. (Civ. Code, sect. 1624.) There are other provisions of this statute, that may prohibit enforcement of an oral contract. You don't specically say what the terms of the oral agreement were, and then you state that you have all of the documentation. Are you saying that you orally agreed to loan him money?

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Answered on 6/10/10, 4:04 pm


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