Q: No written agreement, pay faithfully, almost uninhabitable conditions, still being threatened with eviction.
I have a non-written verbal agreement with the owner, my father. There are years worth of texts to support the terms of the agreement, which included lease-to-own and owner finance option. I was desperate. So I moved in. I was not given an actual amount to pay so I figured just go to the bank that has the refinance on the house and paid them directly the monthly installment, plus some. This seemed fine (with supported texts). Until now. I have also invested my own time, money, and effort into restoring parts of the house because of the uninhabitable conditions HE caused prior to moving in. I have been mentioning getting a lawyer to draw up official papers so we can stick to the original agreement and I will cover all fees. But he has now begun accusing us of not paying and has been making scenes in front of my children to where my 6yo asked "Do we have to move?" I've kept my end of the bargain. I'm just trying to protect my family. On fixed income so legal fees hurt. What do we do?
A: You have an oral agreement for the residential lease of the premises. It would behoove you to have an attorney to draft a written lease so that both the tenant and the landlord have a document to which they can look to for their rights and obligations.
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