Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

My husband and I have lived in his grandmother and grandfather's house for the last six years. His grandmother lived there prior to us, but she tragically passed away and the house was left vacant. His grandfather lives in Georgia and at the time he and his children agreed to allow us to move in. No terms or conditions were established then and no formal documents were prepared. We invested thousands into this property in back taxes, updates, etc and he had no interest in the property at all for several years. I tried to have him sign the property over to us, but several factors did not allow that to happen. Last year he started sending us letters asking for rent and we have been refusing his requests for some time now because his requests were unreasonable as he was stating we would also be responsible for everything as well and would be jsut paying him money and he would have no responsibility. Recently, we discovered that he is selling the property and we have been forced to move. My question is do we have any legal basis to take him to court for money that we invested in the property that he practically abandoned? We have documentation of paid taxes, utilities, etc, as well as relatives that will back our story up.


Asked on 4/16/12, 5:39 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Miriam Jacobson Retired from practice of law

You should have a local real estate lawyer help you to make a claim for the property or at least for the value of your maintaining it and improving it. You need to move on this fast, because if the property is sold and you haven't filed a claim so that there is a recorded record of it, you will not get anything.

You can stay in the house, because he would have to go through a legal process to make you move. If he does sue, you can assert your claim then. If there is a buyer of the house, the buyer must have visited the house and would know that you live there, wouldn't s/he?

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

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Answered on 4/16/12, 3:23 pm


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