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I'm looking for any advice or available options I may have in regards to a very serious real estate problem. I won't repost my whole story as I already have two threads on here. One is titled "Sellers knew of major defect and didn't disclose" and the other is "Has anyone ever dealt with mold." I bought a house with major defects, none of which were disclosed to me. My problem is the lawyer. I am from a small town and I went to the best lawyer around. He is very, very good, but very, very swamped in work. I have met with him twice and went over everything; he said to drop off a couple more papers (which I promptly did) and make an appointment. I have left messages for over a week and I cannot get a call back. Finally, his secretary answered and said that he gets all of his messages, not sure why he hasn't called me back. She also said that their office has NEVER been so busy; she said they are completely swamped. I nicely left another message saying I didn't want to be mean, but should I go somewhere else? Still no reply.
I just am lost. I need to get the legal procedures moving. Do I go to another lawyer, who may be good, but not as good? I am a single-mother so I don't have a lot of money to throw around. I know it's not going to be cheap, and I do have some money saved away for this situation. Do I look out of town? Do I just keep calling? I want someone who is going to work hard on this, because I already have done alot. I am extremely organized and have accomplished alot or work already. The lawyer basically has everything handed to him, I just need his legal expertise. Is there lawyers out there who work for lower-income people? And would they do just as good a job? My problem is very serious and unheard of. I have been told by several people that I should even contact the local news stations about this problem. I just don't want to do anything that's going to harm my case. But I don't plan on telling anything that is not the truth.
So does anyone out there have any advice for me? I have all this extremely good evidence, and currently no one to help me. What do I do?
The situation with the lawyer is the same thing that happened to us. We met with someone and he said our case sounded strong. Then we could never reach him again, so we just wrote him off. We were looking at legal fees in excess of our damages, so we chose small claims court (our damages were within that limit). It came down to our word against hers and the judge said he didn't know which way to go, so we lost. Basically we didn't have the "smoking gun" to prove that she covered up the leaks. If we had a neighbor or contractor who saw or heard the seller talk about the leaks firsthand, I feel certain we would have prevailed.
As for your situation, it looks like you are going to have to look elsewhere. Do you think you could drop by that law office one last time in person to see if that helps you? You just need a Yes, we can help you or a no, we can't.
If I were you, I would start contacting other attorneys. Tell them you really need to keep the ball rolling and if they can't promise that, continue to look.
Good luck! I know your situation is a total nightmare. Ours was bad but not as bad as what you describe. We ended up spending about $6,000 to fix the problems, + $600 for the roof and my husband had to do almost all of the repair work by himself while I helped the best I could while watching our infant son. NOT fun!!!!
Thanks for the reply MovedfromFL. I know, I just need a yes we can help, or a no I'm too busy. Most people told me lawyers would be jumping all over this case--it's a slam dunk case. I just need someone to help me with the legal side. I guess it's time to start talking to more attorneys. I just definitely want someone who is going to work hard on this. I realize that attorneys have a lot on their plates, but that's how they make all the money. I think my expenses will be exceeding what I can get from small claims court (one of my meetings with the attorney he said that). I would do this all myself if I could, but unfortunately I don't know all the legal stuff.
I wouldn't dismiss your current attorney until you have found someone you are more comfortable with. You case is fairly slam dunk since you have tenants who lived there to back you up. I know in Oregon attorney's fees are recoupable but not sure what your contract says.
I wouldn't dismiss your current attorney until you have found someone you are more comfortable with. You case is fairly slam dunk since you have tenants who lived there to back you up. I know in Oregon attorney's fees are recoupable but not sure what your contract says.
Yeah, I'm not going to dismiss him yet. I am going to pay the office a visit tomorrow afternoon and hopefully get some answers. I just need some direction. This is the hardest thing to deal with, especially when you feel as if you're going nowhere.
Find out where you have to file suit also. Do you have to track down the seller and file in their current county? That's what we had to do. Luckily it was only an hour away.
I'm aware that this could take years. I just need to get the ball rolling, which is what I'm trying to do. I just wish they would tell me straight up if they can help me or not.
Find out where you have to file suit also. Do you have to track down the seller and file in their current county? That's what we had to do. Luckily it was only an hour away.
I am actually in the same county as well. They are about a half an hour away, but they have houses on the market in the town I live in. I don't think after this is all said and done, that they should even be able to sell houses.
When you go to your attorney's office I would force them to do something, either give you back all the paperwork you have given them, immediately before you leave the office, or sit down with you and discuss your case, their choice. If they give it back to you then find another lawyer
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