Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Stopping payment on a check
I am a real estate broker in CA and in less than a week a client is expecting to close on a property. At the last minute the seller says that he will remove the oven/range unless she pays him $200.I believe this is nothing less than extortion. He says it's not built in because it is a slide-in range but it is connected by a gas line. Ovens are always left with the property. Not wanting to hold up the closing, she is willing to pay the $200 extortion. I wondered if I gave him a check and put a stop payment on it, is my check a contract for payment of the oven. Is there some verbiage I can put on the check, like ''under protest''. If he does take me to Small Claims Court, will he win?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Stopping payment on a check
You set your self up for a lawsuit and criminal action of your own if you stop payment. The proper method might be to write a letter, go through escrow and then sue in small claims. Make sure there is nothing in the contract or the escrow that would "merge" all agreements into the deal, in other words: that there is no language that would obsolve the seller of their action.
Joel Selik
800-894-2889
Attorney and Real Estate Broker
www.SelikLaw.com
Re: Stopping payment on a check
There really shouldn't be an issue as to if the range is a fixture or not. Check the MLS listing. If it indicates a range and oven, then it was sold as part of the house, no matter what it its characterization might be.
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