Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Ohio

Re: Land installment contract

Land Contracts in Ohio are governed by Title Section 5313 of the Ohio Revised Code.

If the buyer has paid less than 20% of the purchase price and been in the contract for less than 5 years you treat them like an eviction under ORC 5313.08.

If the buyer has been in the contract for 5 years or more , or has paid in 20% or more of the purchase price you must treat it like a foreclosure under ORC 5313.07.

Re: Land installment contract

In a default situation, a vendor under a land contract has two potential options to reclaim the property. The first is a summary procedure known as a forfeiture. If a defaulting party (vendee) has paid on the contract for less than 5 years and accrued payments are less than 20% of the total purchase prioce, the vendor may bring a forfeiture action. The vendee must be in default for a period of at least 30 days. Statutory notice requirements with a right to cure are neccesary to proceed under this claim.

If the above requisites are not met, then the vendor must proceed with a traditional foreclosure action which requires a marshalling of liens and judicial sale.