Memorandum & Release of Lien

[Angie A.]

Help is appreciated on my first wholesale contract. I put a property under contract with a 30 Day Option period. After we signed I could not find a buyer. (I offered about 20k too much) Seller wouldn’t go down. I filed a memorandum at the courthouse. Option period passed and we had no sale. A month late the seller calls to ask why I put a lien on the house and if I’d release it by Friday. I don’t mind doing it but not sure how to. Do I wait for the new buyers title company to reach me or is there a specific form I can print and get it over with? Does it have to be notarized? Where do I send it? She’s also upset that we had a contract and I didn’t come through. My contract specifically said it was Contingent upon further inspection and my approval. Thanks in advance. Angie.

[Ned Carey]

@John Thedford  think you have been a little harsh on @Angie A. Yes she has done something unethical, however she was sold a dream and given bad information on what to do to reach it.  Yes she should have considered how the memorandum would get released when she recorded it. More importantly she should have dealt with it faster. However I still put much of the blame on the people teaching this stuff. 

What idiot told her "And this is something I was told was required to do"?   Also Angie was told she could charge a fee for the release!   Who is teaching this stuff?

Angie made a mistake and came to us for help how to rectify it. Her mistake was one of ignorance (negligence) not of malice. The smart people here, (John is certainly in that group) should first strive to educate, then if appropriate reprimand.

Regarding how Angie should proceed, clearly her attorney should address this ASAP. However if it were me I would write up a release, this release would reference the original recorded document with liber and folio, have it notarized and record it in the land records. 

Angie you should realize that what you have done is a very serious issue. This is certainly a Tort (something you can get sued for) and might possibly be criminal. It sounds like you are hanging around and or listening to the wrong people. 

I hope, Angie, you learn from this. There are many lessons here. One which is not obvious is that another wholesaler cannot legally take your deal. It is called "interference with a contract" Another lesson is; you need to KNOW you deal is so good it will easily quickly resell or you need to be in a position to close on the deal yourself.

Regarding how I would handle it if I were the VICTIM, I would move forward with any sale or marketing efforts. This cloud will get dealt with eventually and if it temporarily blocks a sale, that only increases the damages she could claim. At the same time I would talk to TREC and/or to an attorney to file suit against Angie.