What would you do?

[Mary Berggren]

We have had a bad year with real estate. We have had 3 deals that have not gone through to close. This is the latest thing that has happened and I would like some advice. I know, I know..I should have used a realtor, but I didn't. We are in financial straits and we were trying to sell the land as cheaply as possible to get out from under debt. So here is the scenario. #1..potential buyer inquires about land and come to look at it (10 acres, mostly wooded, some open pasture for building site and live creek..exactly as described). #2..potential buyer comes and looks at the land and we walk it with her for over an hour. She is in love with it, it is exactly what she is looking for, especially the spring fed creek. #3..she tells us that she definitely wants to buy it, definitely..it is a purchase that will be made with her and her sister, but she wants to bring her sister back on Saturday to look at it, and she will at that time give us $20,000. #4..On Saturday, she and her sister come..her sister does not like the property and her sister leaves. #5..Potential buyer asks if we would take $10,000. down and carry the rest to which we say~yes...and she gives us $10,000.00 in cash. I am a bit shocked here, but write up a piece of paper that says that we are making an agreement..I ask her is she wants her husbands name on it and she says~yes, so we put his name on it, though he has not seen the property. At this point we tell her we will get paper work drawn up at an attorney. #6..We go to an attorney on Monday morning and give him the particulars and ask him if he wants to keep the money for us and he says..NO..then I will be an escrow agent and it will cost you more.#7..she calls in the middle of the week and asks us not to put her husbands name on the paperwork because he does not want anything to do with it, and we call the attorney and inform him of this change. #8..we are waiting for the attorney to get paper work done, but allowing her to use the land..and she moves a small trailer on to the land(hey, I know we are stupid and gullible..whatever). #9..1 month into this..she calls (crying).."my husband is going to divorce me if I do not get that money back"!..but the problem is, is that we have spent some of the money (remember I told you we were in debt, and we paid some bills). #10..I tell her I will give her back what we have, but that I have already spent $2,100.00 of it and that there is no way I can pay that back to her..I was in debt to begin with, I have no money. #11..she says ok..and comes and gets the rest of the money (this all took place over a 5-6 week period)..her trailer sits there for another week or so and then she comes and gets that. #12..yesterday I get a letter from an attorney that she is demanding the rest of the money and she says that the reason is, is that we miss represented the property (complete lie) and also because her husband never signed that piece of paper that I gave her. Do we have any recourse here? All the money coming and going was done in cash. What would you do?