What are seller’s rights with a consistently late paying purchaser?
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What are seller’s rights with a consistently late paying purchaser?
My mother-in-law went into a purchase agreement with a couple almost 2 years ago. I provided the agreement via forms for the State of Georgia through a company that provides the contract forms. All were signed and notarized. The purchaser has been consistently later and later with their payments. They do make them in the month due but a week later each month. When confronted that they need to pay by the agreed upon date, their comment is always,
Asked on August 15, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You do not indicate whether this is a rent-to-own situation or some other type of contract. Whether it is or is not will affect the exact steps you take, but the key takeaway for you is that you can not simply lock her out: you need to bring a legal action to remove her, and such action must comport with your state's law for whether she is a tenant (rent to own, in which case it is an eviction) or she is a non-tenant who was allowed to live there while paying for the home (in which case you would eject her). In either event, you need to provide the proper noticer and file the action at the right time, in the correct way (and again: do not simply lock her out--that is never legal). You are advised to retain an attorney who can review the situation, advise you, draft and send the proper notice(s), then file the correct legal action and represent you in court.
Note that since you are NOT the owner of the property, but have authority under a POA, you must hire a lawyer to bring a legal action, such as for eviction or ejectment. Being empowerd by a POA does not make you a lawyer or attorney, but only an actual lawyer or attorney can represent other people (i.e. your mother-in-law) in court.
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