Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
Landord-tenant
My mother is a 30+ years tenant in a multi-dwelling brownstone which the owner is now deceased. The daughter of the owner is now selling the house and wants my mother to move. My mother asked the ''new'' owner if they would provide her with moving expenses (they agreed on $5,000). But the owner has since sent a ''legal'' document to my mother to sign saying that they will give her $1,000 now and $4,000 when she moves. The problem with the document is that the letterhead is supposed to be from an attorney but it just had a name, no address, no telephone number and the attorney's name is not in Martindale. When my mother asked the real estate person (whom my mother has been dealing with) for the telephone number of the lawyer he told my mother he would get back to her with the number (but never did). My mother is very skeptical about signing the document now because she's afraid that she will sign the document and they won't give her the money they promised to give her. What should she do? Also, the house was not in the owner's name it was in someone else's name and the daughter of the owner went and had the house put in her name.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Landord-tenant
I wouldn"t sign it. The $ should be paid up front. If she wants to agree to something else a formal contract with names & addresses must be used. Good luck.