Confused about Bond for Deed.
In January, my family and I moved into a duplex in Louisiana under a bond for deed contract. It was explained to us that we could move in and had an "option to buy" in three years, but if we decided not to buy it, we could walk away from it. We never wanted to really buy the place, but as it was decent and affordable, we went with it. We had just moved to Louisiana and were not sure where to buy a house, but needed a good neighborhood close to our jobs where we'd be safe, as we have a small son. Recently, my husband landed a job with the sheriff's dept, and we decided to start looking for a real house. So, we called up the realtor and found that they are working for a new realty company because the company we did business with is pursuing other deals with the owner of the condos I live in.
Long story short, turns out we're stuck. We cannot move out with our bond for deed. We MUST refinance and get the place in our name, then turn around and sell the place. Nothing I signed stated any kind of "exit clause". We were lied to. We haven't ever seen the deed itself. During the signing of the place, I felt the owner was strong-arming me into buying the place, but he was actually telling me I HAD to buy the place in three years.
None of this makes sense to me. My husband and I are meeting with a Mortgage attorney fellow tomorrow, but can someone please tell me (in layman's terms) exactly what I'm dealing with (aside from a jerk:( Could someone please tell me about bond for deed? My husband and I have really great credit... will this affect it negatively? I'm so angry and just all around hurt by this, we really feel as if we've been swindled. But, I want to know what the deal is with this "bond for deed", and why the owner is being so selfish.
Thanks for any input.:o