I need some Lawyer Help Please!!!!

[WldThing]

Alrighty gents,   one of my closests friends has a real life issue at hand..  Let me go in depth and try to explain the situation,  where i hope some of you can help..

Seven Months ago he moved into a house which he didnt buy,  no contract was signed,  basically nothing,  except words..  The agreement between him and the person he bought the house from was that he would try to apply for a loan within a year to purchase this house,  he applied for the loan but was declined..  Now he has to move back to his original apartment,  since he cant purchase the house,  but there is a slight problem..  

The house he had tried to purchase didnt have a working heater,  the carpets beforehand were rediculously dirty,  so he threw out the old carpet and installed carpets throughout the two-story house..  He painted the house from base to top,  didnt even look close to the original house it used to look like..  

The problem comes from the "landlord",  he is requesting that he put in the OLD,  or keep the NEW carpets which he paid $2,500 for,  even tho the landlord wont reimburse him for any portion of the carpet price..  He is also requesting that he fix the furnace that hasnt been working ever since he moved into this house..  Is there a way he can blame my friend for this problem?  Saying maybe in court that he had broken it on purpose,  but why would he brake it when he was looking to purchase the house..  Now mind you again,  there was NO contract when he moved into the house,  no signed papers by him,  or none of the likes..  

Now could some of you please help him with this situation,  he wants to know if he is liable for these objects if there was nothing confirmed before him moving in.

Thanks.


""EDIT""

The Landlord was living in Public Housing when he had bought this house,  and still lives in Public Housing,  while having this house.

[Habu]

Ok this is easy.

He lived there 7 months. He paid 2500 for the carpets. Did he pay any rent while he lived there?

If so how much?

Now he wants out but he expects his carpet money back. Well if he did not pay rent then he should be billed rent for the time he lived there. If not the carpet can go towards the rent owed.

If he did pay rent then the carpet and furnace should not be his expense. He can get his money back by stopping the rent payments and informing the landlord that he has paid 2500 towards the rent in the form of leasehold improvements. I would advise him not to inform the landlord of his intentions until he has too.

This will end up in small claims court so he must have the invoices for the carpets and everything to show he actually did put all that money into the house.

The landlord will have to get him evicted but that takes a few months and after that time has passed he will not be out as much.

[WldThing]

Thanks for the reply Habu.

He wasnt paying rent,  he was actually paying the landlords LOAN payments on the house,  which were $390 a month,  plus all the utilities.

[DieAz]

laws vary by state, so YMMV.

anyway the carpet deal is; landlord/owner does not have to reimburse for it. the renter/buyer should have gotten the landlord/owner to do it in 1st place. kinda like a light fixture, it is part of the house. a renter/buyer can change it to a different type but landlord/owner will be the owner of it, even if landlord/owner didn't pay for the new one in 1st place.  same with painting, fixing gutters, landscaping, etc.  that goes for renters and prospective buyers.
since the owner's name is on the deed to the property. it belongs to owner.


moral of story; get it in writing. ie. contract. no contract = more or less no binding agreement.
another moral; if you are buying a place, do nothing to it until your name is on the deed and after the deal has been closed, etc.

the furnace part is; ones word against the other, so no ruling. in my opinion.
based on what I see here.
I put money on, it gets thrown out of court. if either side brings it to court.

[parker00]

First off laws are different in different states, but...

Did the landlord ask for the new carpet when it was first put in? If not and since there was carpet in the house before, he will probably get screwed for the money on the carpet. If the landlord made a special deal with him it would be different, but if not then the landlord would have no obligation to pay back money your friend spent on the house. There has to be some type of agreement (verbal or written), that the landlord would reimburse for work done 'work for rent' type of deal. Since the landlord had carpet before and still wants some type of carpet(old or new) and because your friend ripped out the old stuff( no matter how dirty) he has to replace it. Now if he still has the old carpet, then by all means give it back. When it comes to the furnace, again no contracts signed or verbally agreed to by both parties, then he has no obligation to repair or replace. This would not apply if they had some type of deal reached prior to the work about replacement/reimbursment of any work/money. I may not be correct on all this stuff, but I have been through renting out a few houses before and unless it's agreed upon to begin with, then it would all be done out of the 'kindness of his heart' sort of speak.


68Parker

[DieAz]

Originally posted by WldThing
Thanks for the reply Habu.

He wasnt paying rent,  he was actually paying the landlords LOAN payments on the house,  which were $390 a month,  plus all the utilities.

ewwwwwwwww really and no contract at all?

hate to say it but your friend got robbed and no way to recover it.

but like I said before state laws vary.

[Curval]

Oral contracts are valid...EXCEPT when involving real estate.

Real Estate contracts MUST be in writing to form a binding legal agreement.

I think the courts would view his payments and renovations as rent and leasehold improvements respectively.

Not sure about the legal aspects of the carpet and furnace, but the contract issue is a forgone conclusion.  No contract, no sale.

[DieAz]

The Landlord was living in Public Housing when he had bought this house, and still lives in Public Housing, while having this house.

and this has what to do with your friends situation?

if it is a crime then report it to proper authorities. don't try to drag it in a court case, that has nothing to do with it.

[WldThing]

Originally posted by DieAz
and this has what to do with your friends situation?

if it is a crime then report it to proper authorities. don't try to drag it in a court case, that has nothing to do with it.

Not quite sure where he was going with this...

But i see what you guys are saying here.  tough situation for him,  hope i can explain all this to him..

Thanks again guys!

[Airhead]

There's not enough money involved to hire an attorney- his best bet is Small Claims Court.

All he could reasonably ask for is the cost of the carpet and paint, maybe about three grand, but- the only he'd win is if the property owner doesn't show up.

He knew the condition of the carpets when he moved in and he voluntarily replaced them- plus, he voluntarily painted the place- understandably his intention was live there forever, but it isn't the owner's fault his loan fell through- why should he pay for paint (in California it's State law rental units be painted between tenants) and carpet he probably doesn't even like?

Your friend shound negotiate an extention on the one year he had to get a loan- if not he's just plain SOL.

Sorry.

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Airhead
There's not enough money involved to hire an attorney- his best bet is Small Claims Court.

All he could reasonably ask for is the cost of the carpet and paint, maybe about three grand, but- the only he'd win is if the property owner doesn't show up.

He knew the condition of the carpets when he moved in and he voluntarily replaced them- plus, he voluntarily painted the place- understandably his intention was live there forever, but it isn't the owner's fault his loan fell through- why should he pay for paint (in California it's State law rental units be painted between tenants) and carpet he probably doesn't even like?

Your friend shound negotiate an extention on the one year he had to get a loan- if not he's just plain SOL.

Sorry.

as someone else said state laws vary.
In jersey the owner only has to paint the inside of an apartment prior to any new tennant or upon the renewal of the third lease.
This rule applies to apartments only and not houses.

Dont think your friend is going to get anything for the carpet as most places I know of do not require the owner to have carpeting at all and your friend having it installed was a volunteered action on his part. In fact your friend may even be able to get in trouble for installing a carpet is he didnt have the owners prior permission for doing so.

As for the furnace. ultimately it is going to be up tot eh court to decide as I know in some states when renting a "house" as opposed to an apartment the tennant can be made responcable for any repairs that need to be done.
But the question is if the furnace was already broken before he moved on or afterwards

BTW he painted it wrong.
You paint from Top to base and not base to top

[mojo55]

This should be posted in the O' Club:o

[parker00]

This should be posted in the O' Club

It is.

[WldThing]

Heh..