Q: I am interested in a property in Maryland. I contacted the owner, who told me I can have the house. But she did not sign a quitclaim deed. What can I do to transfer the property to me without the deed? All I have is her word of mouth.
The property was in a tax sale, and the investor who bought the tax certificate wants to foreclose. I am pressed for time to come up with the deed so I can redeem the property, but I cannot do that without some type of evidence that the property is mine.
A: What were you thinking about? Did you give the owner money? I hope not. The general rule of law is that oral agreements aren’t enforceable when real estate is involved.
I suspect you were scammed. The property owner knew there would be a tax sale and found a sucker (pardon me, a buyer) who would give her money and she would walk away with some money in her pocket.
Hopefully, this is not the case. Under most tax sale situations, the owner has the absolute right — for a specific period of time as spelled out in the law — to redeem the property by paying the tax arrearage. If you can find your seller, put pressure on her to “fish or cut bait” (either assign in writing her interests to you or redeem the property herself by paying the tax).
Moral of this story: Please consult a lawyer before you enter into any real estate transaction, no matter how simple it may sound.
Q: I live between two neighbors with large trees in their yards. The neighbor to my left has three huge trees in the backyard that are 30 years old. I’m afraid if we get a hurricane they will fall on my house. I have never said anything to him about this.
The neighbor to my right has a huge pine tree that has been a problem since I moved here. We agreed nine or 10 years ago to have the tree cut down. The tree trimmer showed up to discuss the price, and the neighbor came out and joined us. We agreed on $400 to be split between us. We shook hands, but when the tree guy showed up early the next morning, my neighbor was leaving his house and denied making any such agreement. So I paid $200 to cut the limbs on my side.
Did shaking hands and agreeing to pay $200 constitute an oral contract or an agreement? Can I take him to court if this tree damages my property?
A: Film producer Samuel Goldwyn said, “A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.” But that isn’t necessarily so. Some contracts must be reduced to a written document, such as real estate transactions. Oral contracts are enforceable, but you have to be able to prove the facts.
You and your neighbor shook hands; were there witnesses? To have a valid contract (oral or written), three things are required: I make an offer, you accept and there is valuable consideration. Typically, consideration means money is transferred.
But if you take action (or don’t take action) in reliance on the fact that there was a contract, that will be seen as consideration. So in your case, in reliance on the fact that you thought there was a contract, you had the tree guy trim your branches.
Yes, I believe you had a valid contract. But note that I said “had.” If I read your question correctly, this took place nine or 10 years so.
All written contracts have statutes of limitation. After a certain number of years (typically three) the contract can’t be enforced. And oral contracts generally have a shorter limitation period.
Moving to the present, if you believe your neighbors’ trees are a danger to you, immediately send a letter (by certified mail, return receipt requested), telling them of the danger. It would be a stronger case for you if you could get a professional arborist to give you a written report, although the arborist will not be able to trespass on the neighbors’ properties.
If you are still friendly with the neighbors, you should first give them a call to alert them to the letter.
Benny L. Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington and Maryland. No legal relationship is created by this column. mailbag@kmklawyers.com
