Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Sale of a Home

There are many issues raised by your question:

If the property was in PA, any contract/agreement to sell and purchase must be in writing or it is not enforceable. Under certain circumstances, a right might have been created in a person who improved a property based on the legal owner's promise to transfer the property to him.

Was title to the home ever transferred from the estate of the decedent to you?

This could only have been done if someone administered the estate and had the legal authority to distribute estate property.

You should immediately check the land records to see if a deed was recorded transferring title to the man who wanted to purchase the home from you. If the decedent's estate or you did not intend to deed the property to him, there may have been a forged or fraudulent deed.

The only way to correct a fraudulent deed is by suing in what is called a "Quiet Title" action, to restore title to the rightful owner. The only person with the right to bring such an action is the former rightful owner. You should consult an experienced real estate lawyer in the County where the property is located to determine who had legal ownership at the time of death of the person who left the property to you, as well as what your rights are now.