Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia
Seller Held Second Mortgage
My husband and I are in a terrible situation. We are tied in with a second mortgage. We sold our house and was told by our agent, that the buyer would refinance after six months, and we would get the balance of our money. During this time, the buyer would pay us monthly payments of $165. Well, the buyer has only made a few payments, which are always late. It took him 4 months to start paying at all. Currently, we have not received a payment in 3 months. It has now been over a year. He has not refinanced yet! We found out today from a neighbor that he is not even living in the house, his wife left him, and trashed the house when she left. Now, we are really worried about its value. How do we find out if he is paying the mortgage? What should we do? Our agent nor his agent have been helpful. In so many words, they both have told us that we are on our own with this. After all, they both were paid. Yet, we are stuck in a terrible situation.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Seller Held Second Mortgage
More information is required to determine what your best options are. The more time that goes by, the worse this situation may become for you. By the way, unless your bank approved of the transaction, you probably violated the terms of your loan with the bank, so you should be very careful about any communications that you make with the lender who may not be being paid.
Re: Seller Held Second Mortgage
The answer will depend on the wording of the transaction documents. You should have these reviewed by an attorney who can advise you of your rights.
Re: Seller Held Second Mortgage
This is the risk that a seller takes when he/she agrees to finance the transaction, and should be considered prior to the agreement. Your options are likely either suing for the debt or foreclosing. Depending on the numbers, a foreclosure may or may not help. As for the agents, their job is to assist with the purchase and sale of the house, and not to police the transaction later. I am not sure how you think they would help or get involved at all.
Re: Seller Held Second Mortgage
How to proceed from here depends on how the transaction was documented. Unless you took back a security deed (in which case you could foreclose) your option would appear to be a lawsuit to collect the buyer's obligation to you. You should consult an attorney familiar with real estate transactions, who can examine the documentation and advise you of your options.
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