This is a long story, so I will try to make it short, and hope it still makes sense. I live in Arkansas.

We talked with my dh's customer (B) about needing somebody to rent/buy our house b/c we had bought a new one. B's worker, C, and his wife and kids were interested. We talked with B the whole time b/c we knew him better. We talked about what the deal would be (we said we would owner finance for up to two years and after that they would get their own loan). We never once talked with the actual renters/buyers. This was all done through B. They moved in on 9/3/05. They paid us $300 cash then and said they would pay the rest on 9/6/05. We called them three days in a row, with them putting us off each time. We finally got our money on 9/11. In the meantime, we found somebody that wanted to buy the house outright. We want to sell to this person, F.

Do we have actual agreement with C and his wife?? I made a contract, but they never signed it. We kept missing each other. And we never actually talked to them about anything. B just passed info from them to us. They know we are wanting to sell the house to F. They have threatened suing us b/c they say we had a verbal agreement. C's wife's uncle is supposedly a lawyer and they plan on suing us. They say they are going to put a labor lien on the house b/c they have done some work on it. I never authorized any work. They never even informed me they were going to do any work. I told them not to spend any more of their money on the house. Do not fix anything. I had some guys go over there and fix the outside of the house and paint it. C's wife took pictures she said she is going to use in the lawsuit. It is my house! Do I not have the right to fix it??? And they also said that if they had to leave, they would destroy our house and flood it.

Do they have any ground to stand on if they try to take me to court?? Can I get them out of my house so I can sell it???

Also, we have an appraiser coming out this week to appraise the house. C told my contractor there are about 50 holes in the walls, but he wouldn't let my contractor in AFTER I even asked him a day in advance to let the guy in so he do any inside repairs. And C agreed! I plan to be there when the appraiser is there b/c I know C and his wife are going to lie to the appraiser about the house. As long as I give them a 24hr. notice, they cannot keep us out of the house, right?

No, you don't have a binding contract for sale of the house. Under the so-called "Statute of Frauds", contracts for the sale of real estate must be in writing to be enforced.

I caution you, however - Be very careful to not make ANY written "confession" that this contract occurred. If you acknowledge, in writing, that you made the contract then it can be enforced against you and you might be able to be forced to sell. Just don't put anything in writing that acknowledges that there is a contract.

The rule requiring contracts to be in writing ONLY applies to real estate and a couple of other exceptional circumstances. Normally, a verbal agreement would be an enforceable contract.

There are two other major issues with this so-called contract (each of which could probably void the "contract" on their own), but they are not relevant because the issue with Statute of Frauds above is pretty much dispositive.

Okay, now the issue of the "labor lien". I hate to say it, but there's some possibility that you could end up having to pay them for the repairs. It is a small chance, but they could try to argue that you have been "unjustly enriched" by the repairs that they made, and thus that they are entitled to some sort of "restitution" (i.e., compensation). Odds are very much against them being able to win a claim like this, but it is at least conceivable.

They theoretically are required to let you into the house if you give them notice. However, you cannot try to force your way in if they won't let you in.

In order to get them out of the house, you'll need to start eviction proceedings. The process varies by state/county. You might need an attorney. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, TRY TO PHYSICALLY FORCE THEM TO LEAVE, CHANGE THE LOCKS, THREATEN THEM, OR ANYTHING ELSE ALONG THOSE LINES. You must take the eviction process through the court system.

These people sound like they are completely nuts, btw. I'm sorry this happened to you, and hope everything turns out okay!

Thank you so much for your response. A friend talked to the president of the NEA Landlord Assoc. and told him kinda what was happening. He suggested we do a termination of tenancy? That way they have 30 days to leave and they would still have to pay rent on the 1st. Hopefully, this will work. And if they don't pay rent on the 1st, then we can start the eviction process.

Yes, these people have some major issues. I am really beginning to think they do or deal drugs. I have had the neighbors over there tell me the people have anywhere from 10-20 people in that house at all hours of the day and night. Something is going on for sure.

Thank you again for your response. You have made me feel better about the whole thing!

Getting them arrested for drug dealing would be a quick way to get them out of the house, BTW ;).

The trouble is that once you send the letter terminating their tenancy, they probably still won't leave. Good luck!

Did I mention that C's wife works at the county jail? She is a corrections officer for the kids there. I am about to go to the jail to do the papers. She works the night shift there. She is going to get served with the papers while she is at work. We were told by the president of a landlord assoc. that the top guy out there does not tolerate any crap from his employees. And once he finds out about her situation, he is likely to tell her to follow the order or risk losing her job.

And I am not a mean person. I never wish anything bad on anybody. But after the way these people have done us, I hope it comes down to that decision for her. Anyway, we will see how this goes. I am just terrified that once they get this letter, they will destroy the house. Can I press charges if they do that?

Yes, you could contact the police and try to have pursue charges against her. You can't force the cops/DA to prosecute someone, however, so it would be at their discretion whether to.

Well, I did the file the paper yesterday. And I spoke to the chief deputy and c's wife's boss. Neither were very happy to hear about the threats she and C have been making. Especially since she was wearing her uniform when she was making them. They said they can't control what she does on her off time, but they will not tolerate her trying to intimidate people while wearing her uniform. Especially when she has no legal authority.

She was off yesterday, so I imagine she will get served with the paper sometime today. I am already bracing myself for the threatening phone calls I imagine I will receive.

Thank you for keeping up with this.

Ok, so they were served with the Termination of Tenancy paper. On that paper, I gave them until 10/31/05 to get out. But I stated on the paper that if they were staying past 10/1/05, they would have to pay October's rent on the 1st.

The 1st came, and my mother in law called them to collect the rent. C said they didn't have it, but that they would be out of the house by the end of the week. On the 3rd, I went and filed an eviction notice for failure to pay rent. It was served to them on the 5th. I know they have 10 days to leave. What if they don't leave on the 15th? Do I call the cops? The 15th falls on a Saturday, and b/c it is the weekend, I am afraid they won't leave.

Does not sound like an agreement if they never signed it. You probably just need to return the earnest money to them and notate this is a full return of deposit monies paid and that no purchase agreement was formed since there was no signature on the agreement to purchase. I suggest that you consult a real estate attorney or maybe just consider using a real estate broker in completing this transaction.