How to get my money back?

[Nadir M.]

Hello everyone,

Here is my situation:

I bought my house about three years ago. After living in it for almost a year I was able to build a nice chunk of equity so I decided to take a Home Equity Line of Credit. After being approved, I decided to invest that money by giving it to my friend who also happened to be my realator who I purhased my first home from. I would say that I did not approach the situation in the most appropriate manner but long story short, we signed a promissary note which gaureented me getting my money back in three months. Well it's now been 10 months and everytime I ask about my money they either ignore my calls or tell me it's going to be very soon. What's the best way to approach this? How can I get my money back? I will definitly say that I learned my lesson and going forward, I will handle this situation a bit differenlty. 

Thanks,

[Tyler Mullen]

@Nadir M.  You should consult a reputable attorney versed in business and real estate, they will be able to formulate a game plan for you.  They need to review your written agreement and go from there.

Whatever the reason for the delay, it is not acceptable for them to not call you back and/or not detail what the trouble is and give you some kind of expectations and plan on when your funds are being returned.

Most likely your cheapest first option is to ask your attorney to send a formal letter asking for repayment.  If that doesn't generate a favorable response then your attorney will likely look to file something and have the other party served.  Usually gets their full attention.  Short of that you may be able to get your attorneys assistance to renegotiate your note and get a mortgage recorded on one of the properties instead, that would tie it directly to a specific property and put you in better position to force repayment via foreclosure.

If you do end up in court and you win you'd most likely get a judgement which your attorney can then have recorded on the title of any (or maybe all, depends on your state law) of the debtors properties.  That would ensure you are repaid when a property sells.

In the end it might not be so bad as I assume judgements there are similar to my state where 12% interest is normal, so at least your capital is earning while you wait.

Side note: this is also your chance to improve your promissory note so be efficient and pay attention when your attorney reviews your note, get their critique of it so you can make it better for next time.

Let me know how it turns out for you, good luck.

*not an attorney, not legal advice

Tyler Mullen, CFE