former owner sold us this much land ,but when we got to his nlawyer they gave us the whole deed with no meantion of the amount once said ,what do we own ...

Jurisdiction: 

Area of Law: 

Question: 

former owner sold us this much land ,but when we got to his lawyer they gave us the whole deed with no meantion of the amount once said ,what do we own

Selected Answer: 

DakotaLegal's picture

 

 
 
Under most contracts, there has to be an agreement as to the specific “subject matter” of the sale. It’s called having a “meeting of the minds.” That clearly didn’t happen here. So you do have certain rights that go beyond the legal description in a deed. It’s also very possible that you have been defrauded, but first, let’s cover some other ground…such as (1) What are your goals to fix the situation? and (2) What evidence do you have?
 
 
Set Your Goals
 
Do you want out of the deal altogether? Or, do you want to keep the benefit of the bargain, and receive the difference in cash between what you negotiated for and received? As we’ll see, you actually have some room to argue two very different positions: either that you have no agreement at all and should get a complete refund, or that the incorrect description in the Deed is not what you own, and that you are asking for a declaration of interest in the entire property as you paid for it. Here’s a case where someone succeeded in reforming an inaccurate deed: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-court-of-appeals/1221514.html.
 
It’s interesting that you mention “their” lawyer, but not your own lawyer. Did you get any legal help? Unfortunately, when buying raw land (which is what this seems to be), people are more likely to simply use a Quit Claim deed, instead of going through a more traditional closing process, with escrow. If you did use either your own lawyer or a Title company, they may be liable for some or all of your damages, baled on errors and omissions in how they failed to advise you or to get an accurate Deed.
 
Review The Evidence
 
Hopefully, you have an original set of documents showing what you though you were getting. In a perfect world, you have a contract with an accurate property description. In the real world, people very often rely on other evidence. Were there advertisements in local newspapers, or photographs used as part of the sales effort? Did you make notes or receive any maps? All of these factors may lead to establishing your intent to purchase the disputed property.
 
 
Was There Even A “Contract”?
 
This argument is based on the fact that you and the seller never really reached an agreement at all. If there’s a lack of “definiteness” in a contract, the party who is harmed by this lack of definite terms can argue there’s no contract.http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-court-of-appeals/1242077.html. This is the way you may want to go, if you do simply want out of the deal, or if you want out of the deal if you can’t have what you bargained for. Kentucky allows some difference between an incorrect property description and its purchase. One judge in another case decided that a mortgage at issue contained an incorrect legal description of the property. The Court nevertheless said that “Kentucky allows incorrect legal descriptions of property to confer constructive notice unless, ‘the description is so insufficient as that the land cannot be identified.’ ” http://162.114.92.72/COA/2006-CA-001450.pdf. There may be an issue about your duty to go see the public record of the property. An example could be if the seller only described the property in general terms. Your success in getting what you thought you bargained for may rest on just how clearly the entire property was described to you…and how you can prove it.
 
 
Was There Fraud?
 
It is important to see if they actually owned what they originally promised. Have you gone to the county recorder’s office, and checked who owns the disputed property on question? You can ask for maps from that office. You also have a right to record your transaction, so as to put the public on notice that you have an interest in the disputed property.
 
It may also be important that what you paid is worth far less than what you got. A realtor or broker may be able to help do an appraisal to prove that point.
 
 

All Comments

DakotaLegal's picture

 

 
 
Under most contracts, there has to be an agreement as to the specific “subject matter” of the sale. It’s called having a “meeting of the minds.” That clearly didn’t happen here. So you do have certain rights that go beyond the legal description in a deed. It’s also very possible that you have been defrauded, but first, let’s cover some other ground…such as (1) What are your goals to fix the situation? and (2) What evidence do you have?
 
 
Set Your Goals
 
Do you want out of the deal altogether? Or, do you want to keep the benefit of the bargain, and receive the difference in cash between what you negotiated for and received? As we’ll see, you actually have some room to argue two very different positions: either that you have no agreement at all and should get a complete refund, or that the incorrect description in the Deed is not what you own, and that you are asking for a declaration of interest in the entire property as you paid for it. Here’s a case where someone succeeded in reforming an inaccurate deed: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-court-of-appeals/1221514.html.
 
It’s interesting that you mention “their” lawyer, but not your own lawyer. Did you get any legal help? Unfortunately, when buying raw land (which is what this seems to be), people are more likely to simply use a Quit Claim deed, instead of going through a more traditional closing process, with escrow. If you did use either your own lawyer or a Title company, they may be liable for some or all of your damages, baled on errors and omissions in how they failed to advise you or to get an accurate Deed.
 
Review The Evidence
 
Hopefully, you have an original set of documents showing what you though you were getting. In a perfect world, you have a contract with an accurate property description. In the real world, people very often rely on other evidence. Were there advertisements in local newspapers, or photographs used as part of the sales effort? Did you make notes or receive any maps? All of these factors may lead to establishing your intent to purchase the disputed property.
 
 
Was There Even A “Contract”?
 
This argument is based on the fact that you and the seller never really reached an agreement at all. If there’s a lack of “definiteness” in a contract, the party who is harmed by this lack of definite terms can argue there’s no contract.http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ky-court-of-appeals/1242077.html. This is the way you may want to go, if you do simply want out of the deal, or if you want out of the deal if you can’t have what you bargained for. Kentucky allows some difference between an incorrect property description and its purchase. One judge in another case decided that a mortgage at issue contained an incorrect legal description of the property. The Court nevertheless said that “Kentucky allows incorrect legal descriptions of property to confer constructive notice unless, ‘the description is so insufficient as that the land cannot be identified.’ ” http://162.114.92.72/COA/2006-CA-001450.pdf. There may be an issue about your duty to go see the public record of the property. An example could be if the seller only described the property in general terms. Your success in getting what you thought you bargained for may rest on just how clearly the entire property was described to you…and how you can prove it.
 
 
Was There Fraud?
 
It is important to see if they actually owned what they originally promised. Have you gone to the county recorder’s office, and checked who owns the disputed property on question? You can ask for maps from that office. You also have a right to record your transaction, so as to put the public on notice that you have an interest in the disputed property.
 
It may also be important that what you paid is worth far less than what you got. A realtor or broker may be able to help do an appraisal to prove that point.