Will a signature on a peice of paper written by me do as a legally binding contract?

Question

Hi People,
i am getting a divorce and my partner owns a house which she says i can have but because the mortgage is on her name, it's going to take time to transfer the mortgage. I want to start living there as soon as possible. No one is living at that house. i want to move in asap but i also want some security, i don't want to move in and then a few days later (or however long it takes for the house to be on my name) her kick me out.
I want to move in so i want to know if there is any way that she can write on a peice of paper that she is giving me permission to stay in that house and can't kick me out until the house is on my name?????? And will this be legally bbinding as long as both signatures are there, i know that i could go to a solicitor but they are too expensive, i have asked citizens advice but they couldn't answer.
Please only give genuine answers. Thanks in advance

Answer 1

A signature on a piece of paper is nothing more than a signature on a piece of paper. If you have a document that sets out the terms of an agreement, and you both sign it, then you have most of the elements of a contract. However, for a legally binding contract you both need to provide "consideration" which is the payment or service provided. Your partner is providing the house, but you are providing nothing, which means that there would be no binding agreement. So you would have to provide a payment.



If you have an agreement allowing you to live in a house in return for payment, then you have a lease (or tenancy). This would be subject to certain statutory rules, and it would probably be a breach of the mortgage terms. So you need to be careful about what you do.



Also, your partner cannot just "transfer" the mortgage. You will need to apply for a mortgage in your name to effectively buy her out. And if you are living in a property that you then buy there may be certain pitfalls that need to be avoided.



If you are getting divorced, and you are buying a house, you will be needing a solicitor anyway. So ask him about this question as well.

Answer 2

The problem that I can think of with a signed piece of paper being a legally binding contract is that you are not bringing anything to the table. For a contract to be legally binding there must be several elements in place, one of which is known as 'consideration'. This is what you are doing in return for what the other person is doing. You are not providing anything, therefore a contract cannot exist. The form of the contract can vary greatly, even a verbal contract could be enforced if the other conditions were all in place.



The contract can't take into account your agreeing to take over the mortgage, which COULD have been your 'consideration', as the mortgage is owned by the bank or building society.



I really don't see how you can make this a legally binding contract.

Answer 3

Short answer: NO A contract to commit a crime may not be upheld in a court of law. Gambling is illegal in most states and even in those where gambling is legal it must be licensed. Also a contract is usually invalid if only one party can possibly gain from it. By definition a bet is a case where one party gains and the other loses.

Answer 4

Without your signature, that contract is just a piece of paper. A valid and binding contract should have three essential requisites referred to as the three c's - the cause, the consideration and the consent. Consent is the meeting of the minds between the obligor and the obligee such that they agree completely with respect to the cause and consideration. Without such meeting of the minds, a contract is not perfected.



From what I gather in your explanation, you did not give your consent to the contract. Hence your agreement with the home study agency suffers from a serious and fatal infirmity. The lack of consent is evidenced by your not signing on the dotted line. A contract tainted by a vice of consent is at best an unenforceable contract. It can only be cured by your express acquisence to the terms and conditions attached to it. Since you have denied having signed the document, the agency cannot force you to pay up. When they had received the unsigned contract that you sent them back, the agency should have called your attention for the oversight right away or called off the deal right then and there. The fact that they continued to receive payment knowing they had no valid contract on hand should hold them responsible for the risk that they take.



I cannot quote to you the jurisprudence in my area since it could be completely different from yours and do more harm than good. I suggest you do a background check on the company since it might be one of those scams. You might have a case against the agency for extortion. Good luck.

Answer 5

thing is the law os so complicated it's not something best answered here. There are other sites online which can help with specific legal questions. but all the details need to be included, circumstances etc. I suppose a piece of paper is better than nothing, but I do not know about it being legally binding.

Answer 6

Yes, that would be a legally binding contract.



However, to make it more binding, get several other people to also sign it at the same time as witnesses to the agreement.



That way, if there's ever a dispute, you can call on them to testify that they witnessed the agreement.



- Stuart