Still waiting for land title after 1 1/2 years

9 years ago

Sure hope I can get some advice here. We purchased 2 1/2 acres that has a 50 x 150 pole barn on it. This was in August, 2013. The realtor told us the land was sub-divided (original section is 12 acres, we purchased 2 1/2). The offer to purchase has a lot and block # on it. We met with our lawyer in August, 2013 and he received our full payment of the purchase price plus his fees. It is now January, 2015 and we have yet to receive our title!
The other party's lawyer has given excuse after excuse (blaming the bank for not sending documents, stating he is waiting on signatures of those involved, etc. etc.) With a little digging we found out everything he has told our lawyer to be lies. Every time we found his reasons to be lies we told our lawyer but he didn't do anything. After six months I told our lawyer that we no longer wanted to proceed and that's when he told us he already gave our money to the other lawyer!! 5 months ago we find out that this whole time there was a lien on the land (by the bank) and the other lawyer was waiting for the other 9 1/2 acres to sell!!! It sold in September,2014 and he still lies to our lawyer - the latest , as of Dec 22nd- saying the bank said they sent the discharge papers but he didn't get them. The property sold in September!! I called my lawyer a few days ago and he said he called the other lawyer two weeks ago but could not get hold of him and then "he forgot" to call him again.
We are very upset right now as we do not have our money, we legally do not own that parcel of land, and the lot/block # on the offer to purchase is bogus! I've called the land titles office and was told the land is not sub-divided!! We had planned to build our house and be moved there by this summer but it's now January and we are unable to do anything on this land!
Should we get a different lawyer to help us fix this mess? Do we have a right to ask our own lawyer for his fees back? He obviously did not do his job in the first place - if he had checked for liens right at the start we wouldn't be in this mess!

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Comments (16)

millworkman
9 years ago
Get another lawyer immediately, wouldn't be surprised if the two lawyers were not in cahoots on this scam!!
shuffles_gw
9 years ago
I wonder what state you are in. Here for a start, I would contact the State agency that licenses real estate salespeople. I would also contact the State Bar Association. Your congressman? The district attorney's office?
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zorroslw1
9 years ago
Holy cow!! Yes, new lawyer immediately.
chicagoans
9 years ago
That sucks - so sorry you're going through all that. I agree with the advice to get another lawyer ASAP. In the meantime gather everything you can in terms of documentation: any paperwork, email communication, etc.

Send an email with a summary of your conversations with your lawyer and ask him to verify if the information as you understand it is correct. You might need what he says to be in writing.
worthy
9 years ago
Duplicate.

This post was edited by worthy on Tue, Jan 27, 15 at 16:31
worthy
9 years ago
Duplicate.

This post was edited by worthy on Tue, Jan 27, 15 at 16:30
worthy
9 years ago
Another lawyer immediately!

I've twice sued my own solicitors and won both times. The first one re-tired. The second one is back to work after paying a $25,000 penalty and an 18 month licence suspension in another series of matters.

Hint: before you engage a lawyer, Goggle his background. Disciplinary actions are often on-line. See Link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Researching Attorney Discipline

This post was edited by worthy on Tue, Jan 27, 15 at 16:33
kelsie94
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for your responses! We live in Canada and I did research the lawyers involved. My lawyer has nothing negative but the other party's lawyer has a couple bad dealings - took way more money than he should have from clients. Was fined. Of course, we had no say in who the other party retained as a lawyer. We did mention to our lawyer that perhaps we should report this other lawyer to the law society and he told us that if we did that, the other lawyer could drag things out a lot longer, or even stop the title transfer/land sub division altogether!!! At this point nothing is happening anyway so why not report him!! I'm thinking our lawyer said that because he knows he didn't do his job either, and he too would be caught! We are looking for another lawyer but honestly, how do you pick one? We thought we already had a good lawyer :(
sklka
9 years ago
Did your lawyer suggest title insurance? I would not have purchased the property without it.
User
9 years ago
You may need to visit the local police department's fraud division. I'd do that before hiring another lawyer.
kelsie94
Original Author
9 years ago
No, title insurance was not mentioned. We are contacting another lawyer tomorrow to get some advice on what we can/should do. All this crap has really taken the fun out of building our own home and moving to another community :(
It was to be our retirement home. I think I've read every post here on "building a home" and couldn't wait to get started on our own. Thank you all for your input. I will let you know what happens.
bus_driver
9 years ago
I know nothing about the Canadian legal system. But the agency that licenses attorneys should be contacted immediately. Do not be intimidated by either of these bums. There is no way that you can recover your payment without help from the appropriate Law Society.

Here is a link that might be useful: Look here
rwiegand
9 years ago
Another lawyer and the DA, local police and the Attorney General!
chiefneil
9 years ago
I'm so sorry to hear about your problems. Are escrow and title insurance not common in Canada? I'd personally never hand over thousands of dollars outside of escrow unless I was receiving the goods in hand (title in this case) at the same time.
worthy
9 years ago
Are escrow and title insurance not common in Canada?

In the Common Law provinces, title insurance has been common for nearly 20 years; now, an estimated 95% of real estate sales in Ontario are title-insured. Escrow, no. Title insurance is more recent and much less used in Quebec.

Unless a problem stems from clear malfeasance, the Law Society of Upper Canada is of little value. Crowns--we don't have district attorneys, let alone elected ones!--are not going to get involved in property title disputes.

(FWIW, I've been dealing in properties and mortgages for more than 40 years in Ontario.)

This post was edited by worthy on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 18:55
Pinebaron
9 years ago
NoTitle Insurance mentioned? Sorry I cannot be of any help but this is a good lesson for anyone considering a land/property purchase. Even after due diligence, don't agree to purchase property or land without adequate title insurance. One needs to cover one's investment; it's true title insurance costs money but money worth spent especially when spending a significant amount on the purchase. A copy of a title insurance is almost as important as the land deed.

For my coast to coast land purchase last year, I paid a couple of thousand for title insurance; it ensured a risk free transaction and covers me for a host of other unforeseen issues way into the future till I own the land. Zero lawyers were involved in the deal though it is advisable to engage a land attorney if one is not confident about understanding the fine print of any document.