I owner financed a property to someone, they have never paid on time and have accumulated a lot of unpaid late fees. We reduced the payment back in July 09 to try and help them. Their April payment was due by the 8th of April, I contacted them on 12th, they said they mailed it. I contacted them again on the 14th they said that it must have been lost in mail, they would stop payment and resend. Here it is May 6, and another payment is due, along with 275.00 in late fees from last month, not to mention all the late fees from previous months. He stated that he can prove he mailed the check on the 12th and not his fault it got lost therefore he was not paying any late fees. I am tired of basically having to beg for my money, we do have a promissory note that states all about the late fees and such. Do I need to send a demand letter for payment or how do I start foreclosing on him? The propery is located in Magnolia Texas, Montgomery County? Please help

You are probably not going to be successful here. Generally you cannot even start foreclosure until they are at least 90 days past due. And then it usually takes another 3-6 months before the property can be transferred back in your name. Then they still have 90 days to vacate.

My suggestion would be to see if you can sell the promissory note to a mortgage lender. And let them worry about it. Of course that means you will need to accept less than the face value of the note.

Thanks Scott, I might try that