What kind of laywer do I need?
November 4, 2013 11:32 AM   Subscribe

I sold an RV in a mobile home park and the person, who currently lives in the trailer, has stopped paying. I need to know what kind of lawyer I need to talk to in order to get the trailer back.

The person who bought it from me still owes around half what they paid. The title to the RV is in my name still. I need to figure out whether I need to initiate repossession actions like it's a car, or kick them out like it's a landlord/tenant situation, and what it means that the trailer is still in my name (can I throw them out like they were tresspassing?).

I want to talk to a local lawyer to walk me through my options, but I'm not sure what sort of lawyer handles RV/mobile home stuff.
posted by zug to Law & Government (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
A real estate lawyer is the first call I would make in your shoes. At the very least, they would be able to tell you what kind of lawyer you actually need.
posted by deadmessenger at 11:40 AM on November 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


Real estate, yeah. Here in Ontario your issue isn't a landlord/tenant issue (that would be between the mobile home park owner and the tenant; I assume that you're not still paying that owner your lot fees or anything, yes?), and so real estate is closest.

Realistically you'll probably want a small "full-service" type firm. Not a big specialty firm, but one that has people who do real estate, landlord-tenant, commercial debt/contracts. They'll have who you need and will likely be cheaper than a specialty firm anyways.

IANYL, IANARealEstateL, I don't know what jurisdiction you live in, TINLA. The usual.
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:46 AM on November 4, 2013


Unless this is some kind of crazy expensive RV you will probably be in Small Claims court. The kind of lawyer who handles small claims collections cases will also be able to tell you whether or not this is considered a landlord tenant relationship in your state. Check your court web site, there may be free legal advice available for small claims litigants.
posted by steinwald at 11:46 AM on November 4, 2013


Unless this is some kind of crazy expensive RV you will probably be in Small Claims court

In California, the maximum judgment is $10,000. This isn't exactly pocket change but it's possible the OP is talking about more than that.
posted by pullayup at 12:29 PM on November 4, 2013


Best answer: I don't know why people are suggesting a real estate lawyer. An RV is not real estate. It is a vehicle, not a parcel of land.

What you need is a creditor's rights lawyer. Such an attorney could handle eviction from the vehicle as well as replevin the vehicle. It is not very complicate work.

Source: I am a creditor's rights attorney who has evicted people from mobile homes. (this is legal information, of course, because I am not your lawyer)
posted by Tanizaki at 1:50 PM on November 4, 2013 [5 favorites]


An RV is personal property, not real property, so a real estate lawyer is not who you want.

What sort of contract did you have on this?
posted by yohko at 3:29 PM on November 4, 2013


Response by poster: What sort of contract did you have on this?

A very simple one I wrote myself (which will likely bite me in the ass, we'll see). The person was a friend and I didn't expect her to attempt to screw me over. Since the RV never legally changed hands, I'm wondering if it will be as easy as trespassing, hence the lawyer.

The amount we're talking about here is ~3.5k, not worth actually hiring a law firm to do everything, but I do need to consult with one to see how to go about this the right way.

Thanks, Tanizaki, that's a very helpful answer.
posted by zug at 3:55 PM on November 4, 2013


« Older Sampling Design for Spatial Statistics   |   What exactly did Disney get when they acquired... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.