Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
i bought a piece of raw land in victorville, ca, which i now want to return as i cannot keep up with the payments. i had put down 25% and from what i can recall, the title can only be transferred after i've paid 33% of what i had purchased it for. i've been paying the last 3 years. i don't think i've paid nearly 33%. will my credit be affected if i returned it? will i still be liable for paying taxes on it?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Did you buy it through a securities broker? If they badly advised you, you may have recourse.
Best,
Daniel Bakondi, Esq.
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The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC
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You appear to be in a variation of what is known as an "installment land sale contract." Purchase and sale contracts are distinguished by legal commentators and are called "marketing contracts." Marketing contracts involve a purchase and sale agreement that usually form joint escrow instructions, upon which the buyer obtains financing and receives title.
The fact that the seller in your situation retained title, with an installment payment plan, indicates very strongly that you have an installment land contract. The distinction is critical in considering the remedies for a breach.
You are going to have to gather the relevant paperwork and speak to an attorney familiar with tihs concept. The rights of a willfully defaulting vendee have evolved over the years. The anti-deficiency provisions of Code of Civil Procedure section 580b apply to land sale contracts. (Venable v. Harmon (2nd Dist. 1965) 233 Cal.App.2d 297.) Willfully defaulting vendees may matintain an action for specific performance if they are willing to cure the default. (MacFadden v. Walker (1971) 5 Cal.3d 809.)
There are other significant remedies and rights that you would need to be advised of.
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