Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Without knowing what the written agreement says, it's difficult to establish what's going on here. Assuming you've tendered the amount required to exercise the option, you may have to file an action for specific performance if he refuses to perform his part of the bargain. I'm curious, though about the actual nature of the transaction. If there was no dollar amount that you need to tender to exercise the option, but rather simply pay $350.00 per month, this sound more like a land sale contract than a lease with option to buy. Again, the terms of the agreement will control.

You need to gather up all your canceled checks, the agreement, copies of all the letters you have sent him - accepted or not - and contact a real estate attorney in your area, ASAP.

Best of luck, and let me know if you have further questions.

Regards,

Tom Newton

An option, properly written, is exercisable by the option holder whether the other party (against whom it is to be exercised) wants to give up the property or not. In other words, it is the holder of the option, and he alone, who gets to choose whether to exercise the option and force the change of ownership! If it were otherwise, a so-called "option" would be worthless, like an agreement to negotiate.

You need to re-read the option and see what it really says. If it is properly written, it will give you the absolute right -- but not the duty -- to buy the described property, at a pre-determined price, at a certain time or within a certain time frame.

A typical example: "X hereby grants unto Y an exclusive and irrevocable option to buy the fee simple interest in Blackacre, now owned by X, for $5 million, any time between 1/1/08 and 12/31/09, to be exercised by X handing Y a cigar box full of fifties at the main doorway to Blackacre during business hours."

You get the same answer as anyone else with such a legal dispute: you either resolve it among yourselves, with or without the assistance of an attorney representing you, or you file suit to enforce your rights; in your case that would be a suit for specific performance and/or breach of contract. If the property is in SoCal, and if you're serious about getting legal help, feel free to contact me.