Question: We live in the Arcadia area of Phoenix. Our neighbors own a small parcel of land outside their wall which would be perfect for us to store some of our pool equipment and lawn furniture.
My wife is a realtor, and we gave our neighbors the standard paperwork, plus a $7,500 check, and a deed with the legal description that my wife got from a local surveyor. They signed the standard paperwork and cashed the $7,500 check, but no signed deed.
Our neighbors now say that they have changed their mind. Do we have any rights to the land when they signed all of the paperwork and cashed our $7,500 check?
Answer: If your wife is a realtor, she probably used the standard realtor purchase contract which requires mediation before a lawsuit.
You can go
on the internet and find numerous qualified mediators in the Phoenix area. We try to use retired judges, who usually say something at mediation such as, “I had several cases like yours when I was on the bench for 20 years, and this is how those cases generally turned out.”
Both parties then usually settle, and split the cost of the mediation, which should be no more than four hours for your dispute.
Have a question about real estate law? Email Christopher Combs at info@combslawgroup.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Neighbors took $7,500 for the land. Can they refuse to sell?
