Advice please, we have no experience?

[JAY]

We were first time home buyer in Florida back in 05'.  We thought we were purchasing two lots Lot 1 is the lot with our home and lot 2 which is our back yard completely fenced in.   Which approx. is .5 acre.  Back in November 07' we had a real estate agent knock on our door and tell us that our back yard has been sold, at the county tax auction.  What? Uh?  My husband and I did some research and it turns out that the Title Company did not list the 2nd lot on our contract nor did our bank.  Now, everyone else did there jobs ie. real estate agent severer.  Even the bank surveyed both lots, and only listed one.  Meanwhile someone else owns our back yard.  He is asking 50K from the Title Co.  The title companies insurance co does not have that lot listed for us either.  So, we are trying to negotiate a deal with the title company and put up a privacy fence and say here you go here is your property.  We still will have a pretty decent back yard.  My questions are: What to do about the mortgage situation?  Will we owe them money or vise versa.  Oh yea and the county never properly notified us either.
We have talked to a million lawyers and get the run around.  Right now we just want to take the 35k and put up a privacy fence.  I just don't know what to do about the bank issue.  Honestly we can not afford a lawyer, it will cost us 4/5k my hubby is a firefighter and I a stay at home mother of two babies one whom was just diagnosed with noonan syndrome last year!
We didn't know about the back taxes,  because all of that is together with our mortgage.
Ps the buyer of my back yard bought the property for 9k. The title company offered him 19k to buy it back and that is when he said he wanted 50k

[becauseIsaidso]

Did you pay any property taxes on it? If you did, then get a lawyer!

[Mrs__Goddess]

Take your original purchase agreement/offer with all signatures to an attorney.  That will establish yours and the sellers intent before everyone else screwed it up.  Before you go, decide whether or not you want the land, want to forget the whole thing and get the money back that you paid to the bank for it or if you just want to take all of their butts to court for big $$$.  Don't try to figure this one out yourselves - get an attorney.

[lisa_s]

wow
I dont even know where to begin.
Sounds like you were royally screwed.

I would RUN to a real estate lawyer first thing tommorrow morning and have him sort out this mess.

I am so sorry for you. It sounds as if you did everything correctly and there is nothing that you could have done differently as a 10th time homebuyer.

Find out what your rights are! I would not even begin to talk to the shark that wants you to pay him 50k for your own back yard! Chances are he bought it for about 3k since it sounds like it was sold for non payment of taxes. I seriously doubt that taxes on .5 of an acre in your back yard would ever equal $50k.

Since the lot is in your back yard and I assume that you have neighbors all around you, play hardball right back to him. Chances are that the only way for him to get to his new property is to trespass on someone elses (namely yours)
Start by placing no trespassing signs in your yard. IF the only way for him to get to your back yard is to go thru you yard, he will have to break the law to do anything with his own land.

THis will prevent him from making any 'improvements', while you wait for the courts to settle this.

What a mess, I am soo sorry!

[Brent]

Find a good lawyer.  I wouldn't worry so much about attorney fees.  If everything you say is correct, the mortgage company that screwed this up should be liable.  Look for your original purchase agreement.  If you can't find it, call the real estate agent that sold you the property.