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Dr. Frenchenstein
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So i'm moving back into my money pit (You may remember it from older posts, basically, it is going to ruin my life) and since i'm pretty much done with the damage the putz next door has done, i figured i'd tackle the permits that the seller left open on my property (Extension on the rear, something with the windows up front were the open ones, according to the clerk.) I was told on the occasions when i asked a lawyer, whilst i was suing the guy, no big deal. ok. So i figured it was just a formality, get an inspector out, pay some permit fees, call it a day. No... apparently i have to get a licensed contractor to pull these permits for me. Also, i have a rooftop deck... that apparently does not have a permit at all. This doesn't seem like "no big deal" to me. The lady said i'd need engineer drawings, and it would have to be treated like brand new construction. WTF. Not only that, it FAILED inspection on the addition... you'd think someone would, i don't know, follow up on that? maybe flag the property so it can't be sold with bad construction?
Has anyone ever had to deal with something like this before? is it a big deal? if it's just a matter of cutting down some drywall, and paying a fee, i can handle that. If i have to pay thousands of dollars to get this taken care of, well i simply can't afford it. I've already put about $20k into this house, not counting mortgage payments. I'm afraid to move forward with getting this stuff checked out, because from what i've read, they aren't exactly very forgiving. you get some time to fix it, if you don't do it you get a lien on your house that cranks up with interest and late fees. Should i talk to my mortgage company about simply bailing (foreclosing) or should i get the inspection, and if it's going to break me, then bail?
Has anyone ever had to deal with something like this before? is it a big deal? if it's just a matter of cutting down some drywall, and paying a fee, i can handle that. If i have to pay thousands of dollars to get this taken care of, well i simply can't afford it. I've already put about $20k into this house, not counting mortgage payments. I'm afraid to move forward with getting this stuff checked out, because from what i've read, they aren't exactly very forgiving. you get some time to fix it, if you don't do it you get a lien on your house that cranks up with interest and late fees. Should i talk to my mortgage company about simply bailing (foreclosing) or should i get the inspection, and if it's going to break me, then bail?
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I'd go back and talk to that lawyer you mentioned in the first paragraph.
I'm seriously considering filing a complaint against said lawyer with the bar association. not only has he been a douche at the end of that case, he possibly cost me lots of money by blowing off the whole permit thing.
At this point I would talk to your mortgage company about getting out of that property, I really have no idea on how forgiving they will be on that. Since it seems like they may not even be able to sell it. I mean you wont be able to get permits to repair the damages or apply for new permits since there is undocumented construction. Really I don't know how it was even able to be sold with a failed inspection.
This seems to be causing you a LOT of stress and a lot of money, it would definitely be a hit to walk away from it if you have to but with all these issues the house has and the level of stress it is putting you through it might be in your best interest.
Can you take the hit to your credit on a foreclosure? What about mortgage rejiggering?
Is that even an option with a house that's not compliant with local building codes? But I guess they've let you take out a mortgage for the same non-compliant property once, now, so why the fuck not?
If not he could sue his bank/lawyer and walk away from the mortgage probably for lending/approving the house that was known to be non-compliant.
Good luck!
A good lawyer should be able to prove your mortgage is null and void.
Depends on the circumstances, but I've seen mortgage companies refuse a refi on perfect candidates (significant equity in the house, lots of liquid assets, high incomes, etc.) because of work done without permits.
It probably won't hurt to ask, I'd just be up front about it before you waste any time or money on the process.
Yeah, even before the credit crunch, I've heard stories about banks being leery to refinance homes with non-permitted or incomplete work for fear that they'd be left holding a property they couldn't sell back onto the market in the event of foreclosure.
When did he tell you this would be fine, no problem? Before or after you bought the house?
The "Engineer drawings" are another thing entirely.
Was this deck on the house as your bought it? When was it installed? If you can prove it was before said code applied to it you may be able to grandfather it in.
You might want to hit up a local engineering school. While they can't directly help you, they may know some recent graduates or those who just got their PE (Professional Engineer's) certification and are trying to generate steady income.
I could take the hit on a foreclosure, i'd rather not but i'm thinking this house will only get worse and worse as time goes on. it might be worth it to bite the bullet now, rather than end up in the same boat 5 years from now, with slightly more money invested. This place has been a nightmare from the start
About 6 months after i bought the place, a MAJOR leak presented itself and pretty much ruined the back half of the house (the addition). so i sued the seller. that was when the lawyer looked at the permits and noticed no U&O permit, he noticed the other open permits but didn't say anything about any failed inspections. I looked at the same thing he did, it's definitely not obvious that anything failed, or even what's open or closed to be honest. At least to me... I asked him if we should factor that into the lawsuit and he said it was no big deal.
Honestly, you should be suing everyone involved and at least get out of your mortgage free and clear because there should've been no way to buy that house.
I think i'm going to write a letter to the mayors office, and several news outlets about my plight, and hope someone at least knows what to do, or who to talk to. It's probably an exercise in futility, but i am at the end of my rope.
There's supposed to be like at least three people checking on that isn't there?
You should look into garnishing his wages and/or assets, though that would mean using a lawyer again.
October 2008: Termites and Leaks surface
February 2009: Repairs and Termite treatment complete, lawyer consulted
March 2009: Open permits discovered - lawyer says not to worry about it.
June 2009 lawsuit goes to court
March 2010 - Case Settled, 1st and only settlement payment received.
August 2010 - Guy in default of settlement, Confessed Judgement entered
May 2011 - No show for oral exam, body attachment warrant can be issued. Dickface lawyer delays paperwork. (still don't know if it's been requested)
July/August 2011 - Neighbors house is purchased, begin work tearing it down
August/Sept 2011- basement floods due to stolen pipes on neighbors property, (hurricane) water leaks and damage due to construction, city called in fear of potential wall collapse. Find neighbor responsible for damage, he has 30 days to rectify or face legal action. Fence broken by debris pile
October 2011 - remediation company consulted, $5k estimate. Guy talks me into letting him do the work, by inferring that he doesnt have the $5k, and it would have to go to court.
November 2011 - Fence mended, drywall/insulation torn out/replaced. basement floods again. likely due to rainwater and exposed ground. Demand for house to be closed up before any further repairs are allowed (still only frame of house up).
Jan 2012 - No reports of further water issues, tell neighbor he can bring guys in to finish repairs, no response.
Feb 2012 - finally got a hold of neighbor, wants to talk in person... Checked on permits with city, find things are a lot worse than i imagined, consult new lawyer.
Oh god getting this down on a timeline makes me want to kill myself.
we tried to get here, but you have to go through the oral exam to find out what his assets are, etc. According to my old lawyer these are bullshit, because at that point the defendant is as uncooperative as possible, but they have to show up for it. The guy was a no show, hence the body attachment. At first, i was told he gets arrested and his bail is the balance he owes me, it sounded iffy but at this point i was like: fuck that guy, i'll be willing to harvest his organs if it meant i'd finally get my money. later my lawyer denied saying that, saying Debtors Prison is illegal, and that wouldn't happen. New lawyer seemed to say, yeah his bail would be what he owes me, so i don't know what the hell is going on currently...
I'll echo what I've said in previous threads that getting out of the home via a short sale or deed-in-lieu in probably the least expensive/least damaging way to go from here. The property is a mess and it has caused you nothing but headache. You can get out with minimal damage to credit, but you're really throwing money in the sinkhole, imho.
Negative. You can put liens on his property, and this kind of shit can't be tucked away with a bankruptcy. He can't go to jail for nonpayment as it's a civil issue. Otherwise tons of people would be in jail for not paying bills.
Pretty sure you can write off his non-payment on your taxes at the very least. But chances are this dude has property and chances are you can put liens on all of it. Cars, houses, boats, whatever.
I sent my story into my local newspaper, and their real estate blogger is looking into the issue of open permit work/failed inspections for me. If I have to foot the bill to get the house to code, i'm going short sale/foreclosure. If i can work something out with the city/mortgage company, i'll stick with the house.
With a short sale, does that go through like a normal sale, just for less than the amount of my loan? for example, i continue to live there, pay the mortgage etc? or do i have to get out, and stop paying the mortgage?
Mortgage -> everyone else by date
I think you can still go after new property, though this begins to cost you more money than it's worth. Short sales are sales that go below the lien amounts, but all lien holders agree to take a hit and settle for less than the lien amount. Though this creates a deficiency between the lien holder and the borrower. You may owe a balance if the lien holder refuses to forgive the deficiency.
As far as I know from what my dad told me a while back when he was buying HUD/short sale properties is that you can live there but you have to keep the property in pristine condition, and, you will get interrupted all the time if they show the house. The banks actually prefer it too, so they don't have to maintain the property while the sale is going on.
In terms of a short-sale, you're going to see a non-deficiency in almost every case. Banks aren't out there to screw you over for doing what comes down to a responsible thing with an unaffordable property. Within the HAFA (GSE-Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA) program the non-deficiency is built in. In short, if you decide to go a short-sale route, ask about deficiency to be certain, but it shouldn't be anywhere close to a concern. The other aspect of the short-sale is that, generally, you're looking at a process in which you list the home and attempt to get a reasonable offer. In most cases, a servicer will be able to tell you exactly the price they're willing to accept (but not always). There is a failsafe built into short-sale programs in which if you cannot get a good offer the bank will allow you to do a "deed-in-lieu" in which you hand over the property in remission of the debt, effectively wiping the slate clean. Again, the vast majority of these are non-deficiency.
You've been going through this crap forever, and at this point it seems like every time you fix one thing, two more pop up. If I were working with you as either a servicer rep or a HUD counselor I'd point you toward the short sale.
No i did, and he found the flashing issue (which caused the initial problem). Problem is, i trusted the seller when he said he fixed it because i would have had to crawl under my deck to get a look at it. It was on the back of the house as well, and he caulked that, so i figured: why would he half ass it? Yes, stupid, i know. All the other stuff is under the drywall or wouldn't come up in an inspection anyways.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31856198/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/attorney-freed-after-years-jail/
They probably won't send him to jail unless, like that lawyer, he's just being a douche.
My issue is, if he ends up in jail, do i ever get paid? While i'd love to hear that this guy is someone's new girlfriend, i'd much rather get a check!
I don't think he gets sent to jail but it's sort of a forced bankruptcy under ch 7 or 11, I forget which.
The larger point to my mind is that if he thinks he can get away with not adhering to your structured settlement without any consequences, the only way to disabuse him of that notion is to show him the consequences as well as your willingness to be merciless about trying to have them enforced.
There is no guarantee that he will ultimately accept a structured settlement over total financial ruin, in which case it's a lose/lose for both of you. The outcome of doing nothing, however, is currently lose/win in his favor, and it sounds like that shit ain't working very well for you.
He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar fingering the cookie monster and doesn't want to pay the price.
How can i get that to be a binding agreement? should i show up to his office with a letter saying "i agree to pay $X to finish the repair" and get him to sign it? basically, i want to cover my ass, as i cannot afford to keep splashing money out for this shit, and never getting paid back.
I talked to my lawyer again. after threatening to file a grievance against him, he agreed to finally file the body attachment warrant. (Did i mention my lawyer has been telling me he filed the paperwork, and then not actually doing it?) he also recommended a i hire a lawyer who specializes in judgement collection, who works on contingency, considering i pay him hourly. At this point, how much "work" is really required? I have friends who are lawyers that would probably be willing to write up any writs of garnishment or whatever. As far as i know, all i can really do at this point is hope he gets pulled over (once the body attachment is filed), and try to get at his bank accounts. i guess there is his personal property as well, i think there is some writ, where sheriffs will go confiscate his stuff, sell it at auction, and give me the proceeds. it doesn't seem like enough work to warrant me paying 1/3 (that's a guess) of whatever i end up collecting to some lawyer buddy of his.
He's saying it to shut you up. As far as I know, your insurance should be going after him and not you directly, and honestly I'm surprised they haven't.
Get a new lawyer too, just for a second opinion, most will do free consultations. Get one that specializes in the judgement like your current one suggests. The sheriff can't seize property, you're not a bill collector and don't have a lien on random assets like a car loan would, for instance.
A judge can force him to liquidate (bankruptcy) if he fails to pay debtors, and he has the equity/wealth to do so. Wage garnishment is most likely to happen, but if he's unemployed I think it heads to a bankruptcy judge to determine what to do, especially if he has equity in other properties, and investments/savings. Again, a (good) lawyer will help you with that.