Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Property lean

My daugther and son in law moved into a home owned by my son in law's parents. They had a verbal agreement that when they were ready, they could purchase the house for what it owed on it. During the past year, my daughter has done about $60,000 in upgrades and she is ready to purchase the home. The father in law now wants $233,000 more than he owes for the home. My daughter and son in law are furious and want to move out if the house. If they move, can they place a lean on the home for the amount of upgrades they did?


Asked on 5/04/07, 12:06 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Harrison Berger Harrison, APC

Re: Property lean

Generally, agreements regarding real estate must be in writing to be enforceable. An exception is estoppel, where one party relies to his/her detriment on the promises of another. In this case, your daughter expended a substantial sum of money on the property in reliance on a promise to sell her the house. However, I would need more facts to determine the strength of the estoppel argument. For example, was there an agreement on the purchase price?

Feel free to contact us if you or your daughter need help.

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Answered on 5/05/07, 11:40 am


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