[Angel Marie]

Ok, here's the deal. A little over 2 yrs ago I bought a house with my mother here in S. California. Both she and I put $10,000 down, but the house was put in her name. We had an agreement (oral) that everything was 50/50. House payments, upkeep, etc... She never moved here with me and left me with total responsibilty of the house. I sold the house about 12 mos later (with agreement from her) because $2500 a mos payment was too much for me. Now, When I sold the house, she told me to just sign her name on the documents to make the sale go faster (she was 2000 miles away) and give her $20,000 at the close and wire the rest in my account because I was handling the deal. I done that. She got her $20,000 ($10,000 down payment was returned plus another $10,000) and I paid all the pre-payment penalties, realtor fees, house payments to that point etc... She met a new guy about one yr ago and now they together have decided to blackmail me. If I dont come up with another $20,000 more they will go the Prosecuting attorney and say that I signed her name against her will when I was going through the process of selling the house. "Theft By Fraud" to be exact. I know I am in trouble and I should have known better, but my mom and I have always been on the "trust factor" with each other my whole life. Now this new guy is gonna get me good, with her help of course. I do have a Real Estate license making this all the worse. Is there a statute for this kind of lawsuit against me? And does anyone know how I can stop this blackmail, or am I gonna have to pony up $20,000 to keep from losing my real estate license, getting a fine, and possible going to jail. I have never even had a traffic ticket, let alone anything of this magnitude. I am scared and angered all at the same time.

[Angel Marie]

I am replying to myself because I left out some vital info: The oral agreement between my mother and I once we both put down $10,000 each, was: We would each pay half the house payments and utilities, upkeep of the home, and living expenses. We were to live there for 3 yrs so the pre-payment penalty expired and then we could sell if we had other plans for our lives. She never paid one house payment, no upkeep, nothing! We paid $250,000 for the home and I sold it one yr later for $370,000 equalling $120,000. The house payments were $2500 per month for 12 months which cost me $30,000 for the yr, plus all the utilites and so forth. She never paid one dime on anything concerning that house, and is now saying that she only loaned me the $10,000 down, (So why did I pay her $20,000 at the closing, if I only "borrowed" the initial $10,000? She is talking out of both sides of her mouth).
The closing costs were around $12,000, realtor fees were 6% of $370,000. Taxes $20,000. pre-payment penalty was about $20,00 I believe, plus I gave her $20,000 too. This all puts me gaining nothing but quite possibly going in the hole over this deal. Can you file "Theft by Fraud" when the "perpetrator" (being me) did not gain any money but rather lost money? Or is it a forgery issue? GOOD GOD! I did not sign anything against her will, everything was agreed upon and she signed the Grant Deed with a notary. Can she now come back and say that I signed things against her will when she signed the Grant Deed? It's nothing short of blackmail. I really am being screwed here because if there are any charges filed and substantiated I could loose my real estate license and that would destroy me!

[deadlock]

I am replying to myself because I left out some vital info: The oral agreement between my mother and I once we both put down $10,000 each, was: We would each pay half the house payments and utilities, upkeep of the home, and living expenses. We were to live there for 3 yrs so the pre-payment penalty expired and then we could sell if we had other plans for our lives. She never paid one house payment, no upkeep, nothing! We paid $250,000 for the home and I sold it one yr later for $370,000 equalling $120,000. The house payments were $2500 per month for 12 months which cost me $30,000 for the yr, plus all the utilites and so forth. She never paid one dime on anything concerning that house, and is now saying that she only loaned me the $10,000 down, (So why did I pay her $20,000 at the closing, if I only "borrowed" the initial $10,000? She is talking out of both sides of her mouth).
The closing costs were around $12,000, realtor fees were 6% of $370,000. Taxes $20,000. pre-payment penalty was about $20,00 I believe, plus I gave her $20,000 too. This all puts me gaining nothing but quite possibly going in the hole over this deal. Can you file "Theft by Fraud" when the "perpetrator" (being me) did not gain any money but rather lost money? Or is it a forgery issue? GOOD GOD! I did not sign anything against her will, everything was agreed upon and she signed the Grant Deed with a notary. Can she now come back and say that I signed things against her will when she signed the Grant Deed? It's nothing short of blackmail. I really am being screwed here because if there are any charges filed and substantiated I could loose my real estate license and that would destroy me!

Your case is complicated and you would definitely benefit from at least consultation with a real estate attorney. From what you have said it sounds like you were her agent from the beginning. And she actually doubled her investment on the return. The threat of blackmailing you sounds just as you stated "a threat". If you are planning to prepare a legal battle with her it is going be based on what "if's". The details should be presented to an eXpert in that area.

[Angel Marie]

No, I wasnt her agent, although I am an agent. That isnt a factor in this problem. The factor is, can she file a "Theft by Fraud" charge with the prosecuting attorney's office, when I didnt even make as much from the sell as she did. She wallked away from this entire agreement and left me holding the bag. I made sure all the fees were paid and that she walked away $20,000, now she wants to file charges on me if I dont pay her more money? Blackmail! Is there any substance to this threat, or could there be?

Do you have cancelled checks showing she go tmoney? Your big problem is you cannot say under oath that the sigature was hers because you know it was not!

[Angel Marie]

That's just it panther. I did sign it, but with her permission. She was fine with everything when it happened. She has concocted this scheme now to blackmail me out of money. Yes, I have everything to show that she made money on the property and I did not. So my big question is, how can she have me charged with "Theft by Fraud" if I didnt gain anything. I didnt get anything. I paid all the fees at closing and made sure that she got $20,000 tax free money. What did I "theive"? It is clear by the paper work that is was never my intent to take anything or to be unfair with her in anyway. But there is still the signature issue. But I didnt get anything tangible by signing her name, only making sure that the closing went smoothly and on a timely basis, which was her request. What validates something as "theft"? If I can prove that I didnt get anything and didnt profit, am I still a thief?

The agreement when we got the home together was supposed to be 50-50. I paid all the bills, everything for that yr. She never even paid so much as a light bill and I can prove it all. But that doesnt change the signature issue. However, she did sign the Grant deed in front of a notary, and at that time was pleased with everything. Now, she has this crooked man in her life and she filed bankruptcy trying to get money and debts paid, trying to scam me, and God only knows what else. She claims that she has already contacted the "prosecuting attorney" over this signature issue. I just wanted to try and gain some knowledge before I got side blinded. I dont really have the money to see a lawyer right now.

There are many many wise people on this site but it will be in your best interest to see a Real Estate Attorney. Many Attorneys offer free office visit first time. This a complicated issue and using a website like this and getting advice from people you don tknow or their background may do more harm than good. Find an Attorney.