Indiana- Am I renting? Confused...

[willowbranch]

This is a bit sticky and I have questions, so bear with me...

I used to work for my father's HVAC/plumbing shop. His wife (my step-mother) has various rentals. My father has stated many times, usually in anger, that the rentals and his shop are seperate entities- and when he does work on those rentals, they are billed like any other job.

Now, my step-mother had this old, run-down house that she bought to make apartments out of, but with the condition of the building and property, she was advised by my father to tear it down and build new. She already had another very involved remodel going on, so this house was just sitting here, doing nothing but costing her money.

I fell in love with the house, and decided that I wanted it to save and live in. I was still working for my father at the time, and upon talking to my step-mother, we entered into a verbal agreement for a contract. The only things discussed were the monthly payment, her price for the house (no intrest was discussed), and the fact that all repairs and upkeep are to be done by me. It was also agreed- actually demanded by her- that a legal land contract be drawn up. I took possession in mid-june, with the first payment agreed to be made at the beginning of July.

So far, so good.

In the beginning of september, my father and I had a fallout at work, concerning my pay and mental/verbal treatment. I quit work at his company. He showed up at my house (the house in question), and belittled me, yelled at me, told me I'd never make anything of my life without him and his company- all this in front of the kids- and when I still refused to return to work, he told me that I would have to move. Of course I said he couldn't do that, to which he replied "Oh yea? Where's your contract?" I said that I was already supposed to have the contract, but his wife still hasn't come up with one. He then says "Well, with no contract, we can do whatever we want." From there, it was either return to work, or lose the house. So I returned to work. A few days later, I found out that they attended a cookout- a cookout that my future mother-in-law was also present for. The step-mother then proceeds to tell the future mother-in-law that she better warn her daughter about the lazy P.O.S. that I am... told her a bunch of degrading BS. I, of course, quit again.

Here I am, at the beginning of another month, with my $200 in my wallet and still living in the house with my woman and 3 kids...

Obviously, my first question is this- without a hard-copy contract, am I still entered into a land contract? Is the verbal contract valid? Secondly, isn't the whole "work for me or move out" thing considered blackmail?

There's more...

When I took possession of the house, it was no way near liveable, but I accepted it under the impression that my family wouldn't screw me, so it would be safe to remodel and make liveable. It was agreed and understood that I was going to spend my money and labor on the house because, well, it's mine.

Here's a short description of the house as I received it from her- it's a large two story that has foundation/drainage issues, resulting in uneven floors and sill rot. The downstairs bathroom was gutted and the floor cut out. The kitchen was gutted- there was no sink, cabinets... nothing. Dining room floor was cut out. Furnace in basement was sitting in 2' of water, so the electronic board is shot. All ductwork has been removed. Gas line has been removed. In the crawlspace, all sewer pipes and supply plumbing has been removed. The water heater has blown elements. The old fuse box had a half dozen sub panels hooked to it, and only half of the outlets worked in the house. Bare wires galore all over the house. Huge chunks of plaster missing all over. Massive leak around chimney. Kitchen window busted out. Two exterior doors (and surrounding walls) are so rotted that you can see daylight- and lots of it. Crawspace was dug out to be deeper, and the dirt piled in a huge mound in the yard. Garage missing its overhead door. Living room, kitchen and back room had rather large piles of "tear-out" refuse. Numerous window leaks with rot, bad roofing.... there's more but you get the idea.

Now, here is the work we have done, thinking we had a contract... Installed new 200amp breaker box with breakers, rewired about a third of the house, installed new sewer and water lines in the crawl space, replaced upstairs toilet, installed new drains for upstairs shower and sink, installed washer/dryer hookups, replaced elements in water heater, installed a temporary kitchen cabinet and sink, wired stove, repaired sump pump, filled in old cistern, got rid of over half of the dirt pile, cleared out all tear-out garbage, installed $500 french door in the back den, wired and drywalled the back den, partially drywalled the kitchen, fixed kitchen window, blocked off the two rooms that have no floor (seriously- even the joists were cut out). Replaced one rotted outside wall- it's in new OSB ready for siding. Installed 100amp breaker box and new lights in garage... and lots of other stuff.

Now, we are sitting here with a stack of building materials that we bought for this house... and we're afraid to continue. It is getting chilly at night, with winter rapidly approaching, and we have a broken furnace with no ductwork or gas lines going to it.

So, are we renters or do we still have a land contract? As renters, aren't they responsible to provide us with heat, floor and a sealed-up house? Can they kick us out just because I won't work for him? Did I lose all of the materials I put into this place if we do get thrown out (note: jail time or not, the french door WILL go with me if I have to leave). And finally, could/should I withhold this month's $200 payment until either a contract is provided or they take care of the issues that a landlord is obligated to take care of in a renter/landlord scenario? We are both working, but with three kids, plus two more I pay support on, we don't have the money for an expensive lawyer. What do we do at this point?

I forgot to mention- my father shop has a revolving credit deal for the employees there. It's pretty simple- you get what you need at cost, and pay on your account at your discression. The 200amp breaker box and some of the plumbing fittings were aquired this way. I did not receive my final paycheck from the shop- instead I got a piece of paper explaining that they took my check and paid the account off and covered one missing uniform shirt- AND stated I still owed them some money for a couple other things. Now, when she figured my check up this final time, she did not take any of the taxes and stuff out like all my other checks. She also did not take out my court-ordered child support. She wrote it as a gross check that they kept entirely. There was never a notice sent about the account that I owed. That makes me think that I should rip the plumbing and breaker box back out if I go. Could I return the house to them in the same condition I received it (it would actually be better, because I can't take the drywall back down)? I already know the deal with my check is illegal, because it was in the paper about a year ago- employers are not allowed to help themselves to an employee's paycheck, victims can be entitled to up to three times the amount.

As it stands, we do not want to lose the house- we like it. But we cannot get a loan at this time to mortgage it- I've got rotten ex-old-lady credit and she has a fresh bankrupcy. I've just started my own business and she has less than a year at her job (her old employer closed). We pay our bills on time, work on this house, keep the kids happy, and wittle away at the bills that our ex's have left us with. We get by easily, but there is just no extra there for a lawyer. But still, this is plain wrong. There has to be something we can do. Any help/ideas/suggestions would be great.
Thanks in advance.

[elklaw]

You have a roof over your head. I suggest consulting a local attorney because the facts here are really confusing and do not conform to the normal rental situation.