Land owner receives payment, changes agreement

[omegaltd]

A land owner, who is the owner of a Real Estate Investment company, made a verbal agreement to sell me a quarter acre of land, in Florida, for $5000. I sent him the check via certified, signed receipt mail. He received it and accepted it, then called to demand an additional $5000 because "he under valued the parcel".

Once he accepts the payment, is he now legally obligated to honor the agreement and send me the deed or does he have the right to change the terms after receiving the payment? I need an answer quickly!

 

[seniorjudge]

Oral contracts regarding real estate are not worth the paper they are written on.

 

[omegaltd]

That is true, but he signed for the check which carries the date and time. His email for the new deal also has date and time which shows he changed the deal after he received payment... Is this legally binding?

 

[lwpat]

Actually they are not worth the paper they are not written on. No, it is not binding and sounds like a scam. Demand your money back.

 

[omegaltd]

I just wanted confirmation. I finally got confirmation that unless there are the signatures of both parties on a contract, then at least in Real Estate, nothing is legally binding. Real Estate law exists simply because most people are greedy and have no honor.
The company admitted today that they don't have any knowledge of Real Estate Law (I assumed they did) and are honoring the original deal. I must have laughed for an hour after their call. They apparently want the money more than they want to risk the deal being canceled. I threated to stop payment on the check and they agreed to the original amount. I did offer to give them a receipt (as a 501(c)(3)) for the difference between the price they original asked for the parcel and the Property Appraiser's appraised value (which would be considered a legal donation that is tax deductible). I told them they had to provide me with the official documentation to prove this amount (IRS regulations). So this works out in the end... I'll never allow my excitement to make me forget to get it in writing first ever again...
Thank you so much for confirming what the average person considers legal is in fact not.