I sold my house but was never paid

I often go to my clients if they are in Houston or the surrounding areas.

Hi - what does the contract say? We are looking for the choice of law clause. If the contract provides for NY choice of law then fantastic! You hire an attorney in New York, send them a demand letter and file in a New York State Court - on the day after the expiration date for your letter. Once you get your judgment in New York, you hire a collections attorney in Montana to go collect your judgement (if they won't pay up - its amazing how much they are willing to pay when you get a local lawyer to put a lien on their house!) If the choice of law clause says Montana - you can (i) be certain and hire a lawyer in Montana and follow the same process or (ii) be aggressive, hire and file in New York, just to ensure that they have to hire a New York lawyer to get the case dismissed. The second situation would be if you think they would rather settle with you than pay someone in New York to get the case dismissed. There is a lot of strategy to consider - but the most important thing in any of this is to be decisive and move forward with a lawyer quickly once you decide on a course of action. I've seen clients who had stronger cases lose in the end because the other side was aggressive in Court and had their lawyer on a retainer immediately and filed before my client could finish "considering her options."

You are on the right in getting the DA involved. However, your issue is very specific and you need someone with experience and expertise to assist you going further. I encourage you to post your job to the website seeking a lawyer licensed in the state you are in and who has experience in handling cases such as this so that you will have an experienced advocate by your side in getting to a resolution. All the best Donya Gordon

Early in law school we learned that any bargain for consideration can be legally binding, meaning anything even written on a cocktail napkin can be binding if it contains the elements necessary to deem it a contract. Although I am answering this as a hypothetical and not as your attorney it is very possible for an agreement to be deemed legally binding when done via email if it can meet the threshold of being a contract. The basic elements for a contract or legally binding agreement are offer and acceptance, adequate consideration, capacity and legality of the contract. If an email contains all those elements it can be an agreement that was made through the course of the communication. I would certainly recommend speaking with your divorce attorney or a family law attorney licensed in your state if you are concerned about any possible liability. *The answer above does not constitute legal advice, nor create an attorney-client relationship.*

You should go to VRBO terms and conditions. The document should list where disputes should be held. Since both you and the owner are users of the site, you are both bound by the terms. If your review was based on your experience, another option is to do a cease and desist, but I would need to discuss the matter with you in order to fully assist. you can reach out to me via Contracts Counsel. All the best Donya Gordon