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2468purple · Jan 21, 2010, 07:35 AM

We purchased land contract home in Michigan 2 years ago. Everything was filed by both parties. We have 3 more years left until our balloon is up. We purchased for 93,000 and now owe 78,500. We can no longer afford the monthly payments. Owner will not work with us or accept our phone calls. We put approx. 15,000 into the home and 7,500 down. All we want to do is walk away from the home but owner says we can't? We have bent over backwards to resolve this and have even sent him loads of other couples who would love to purchase the property on land contract or assume ours. I am still trying to even get the home sold (conventional loan) for him for what we owe. He is just terribly brow beating me. He lives out of state and we send payments to a realtor who tried to sell the home to him for 2 years while it sat. The realtor helped him draw all paperwork up.

Can we walk and leave the home and of course we know we won't get any money back. We just want to leave as we can no longer afford the monthly payments.

Can he turn us in to credit reporting bureau's and ruin our credit? We had to file BK previously and if he can report will this be on our credit history? If so; for how long?

Please help; we are desperate! We had a substantial employment pay decrease. Owner will not work with us at all.

Sincerely
Desperate and afraid

AK lawyer · Jan 21, 2010, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by 2468purple

Can he turn us in to credit reporting bureau's and ruin our credit?...

Yes. You would have breached a contract and he can report that.

But it's just your credit score. It's not the end of the world.

Fr_Chuck · Jan 21, 2010, 07:10 PM

He can only do what is allowed by the contract. The wording is somewhat off, ( we only owe so and so) since on a contract for deed, you owe the balance of all paymnets left, not a separate payoff minus interest normally.

But he can do what ever is allowed in the contract, assuming this is a real contract for deed, there is no formal loan, and the deed was never transferred, the person you bought it from still has the deed in his name, and there is merely a contract for the purchase, ( it may or may not be filed at courthouse)

Normally you can just walk away, once you stop paying or go into breach, the contract converts to a rental agreement. ( this is the most common clause) and then you have to give notice to move out. And he can collect rents till you move out with notice.