Celina Gleason

Sounds like you are looking for historical data? We have a county archives that holds a lot of valuable information about historical homes in our county. I have a historic home listed right now and checked with them on historical info. Unfortunately, they didn't have as much as I had hoped for, but I did learn a couple of neat things about the house. Our local County Assessor's office has the ownership history. If I were you, I would start with the local Assessor's office and find out the names of the folks who owned it previously and then check to see if you have a county archive or historical society. If that doesn't work, you may want to find out where the local seniors hang out. They are usually a wealth of information and more than willing to chew the fat and share what they know - especially here in the South (lol). - Wed Jul 30 2008, 10:47

Here's my best advice: contact your local magistrate's office. He or she will be the authority who will make the ruling on this case anyway. You will have to have your receipts, cancelled checks, etc. to prove your payment history. I don't know enough details on this, but it sounds like you guys had an oral contract to me. In other words, the law states (in everyday terms) that your pattern of behavior over a period of time establishes your intentions; therefore, if you continued to occupy the property and pay your rent, and the landlord continued to allow you to live there and did not file any eviction notices, you two must have had an oral understanding. Therefore, you had an oral contract. I am from South Carolina and know how that those "good old boy" handshakes and verbal agreements only cause BIG problems in the long run. Just chalk it up as a valuable lesson learned and ALWAYS have a very specific and detailed rental agreement next time you rent. On the flip side, the burden of proof will also have to rest on the landlord(with receipts, etc) to prove that you are in arrears. - Wed Jul 30 2008, 10:15

This is totally not the norm. I hope you are working with a Buyer's Agent and licensed Realtor. You need someone looking out for your best interest - PERIOD! I hate to hear stories like this and yes, you are correct... your agent should have alerted you, especially if your agent is from that area. It is their job to stay abreast as to what is going on. Your real estate lawyer may assume that you are already aware because that is the job of your agent. Good luck with your search! - Mon Jul 28 2008, 18:14

Great question. Are you using a Realtor? This market is ridiculously slow and sellers in the active market are at a terrible disadvantage. My advice to my sellers is always this, "Most always, your first offer is your best offer." I don't know what your house is listed at, but you may want to ask your Realtor (assuming you have one) to approach those previous offers and see if they are still in the market to buy. Maybe you can revive one of those previous offers. I'm sure your agent is doing everything possible to make it happen, so please try to refrain from pulling the listing unless you know for sure that they are not doing their job. It simply causes you to lose precious time. Maybe you should consider offering to pay closing costs on behalf of the buyer. I have had several sales recently where that one worked like a charm. We offered a few thousand dollars closing costs on behalf of the buyer but adjusted the sales price to help buffer that.

Make sure that your Realtor (again, I'm assuming you have one) is using every possible avenue of advertising such as Craigslist.com, Zillow, ActiveRain.com; and other websites they can post your listing on for free.

My heart goes out to you along with my other sellers who are desperately trying to sell right now. Good luck! - Mon Jul 28 2008, 17:50

Great question! There are so many reasons why I think you should just go ahead and sell... Your insurance coverage will be off the chart, long distance management of property is the most unbelievable headache you can imagine, you have a "sure thing" in your relo company's promise to buy (which gives you an edge on about eighty percent of all other home sellers right now) and I don't know about your state, but in our state the tax rate schedule for out of state homeowners is much higher than owner occupied homes. Besides, you may move to the new area and fall in love with it. I moved to my town 13 years ago thinking that I would absolutely hate it and it would only last a while and I would beat it back to my hometown. I totally LOVE my town now and would not move back to my hometown if someone GAVE me a house there. That is just a few reasons... if you really want me to dig, I can probably find some more. Good luck with your decision. - Mon Jul 28 2008, 17:38