answer legal advice

 I live in Georgia. I own a home in  Florida. I own it outright.  No mortgage. 

I moved back to my hometown after my husband died. It just didn’t feel like home anymore. 

My sister wanted to buy the house and asked if she could move in and pay rent until she could get financing to buy the house. I agreed because - she’s my sister.  (I know - I should have known better.) she pays a very low amount for rent.  

She told me when she’d been at her job for two years, her company would help her get financing. So I agreed to wait. January 2023 was two years.  She didn’t get financing and quit her job. She went to work for a contractor, basically working under the table. She didn’t tell me she quit her job, but kept making excuses. 

I found out when her boyfriend posted on Facebook that she had a new job. 

I’ve been pressuring her to do something and she assured me that her boss (a home builder) was going to finance the purchase for her. 

She told me she would pay the taxes - actually said on the phone that she was on the way out the door to do it right then. I believed her. 

Five months later I receive notice that the taxes hadn’t been paid and I had until midnight to pay them or the house goes on the tax sale list. I’m not even sure how I got the notification because the mail from the tax office usually goes to the house. I’m just glad I did receive it - even at that late date. 

I managed to pay the taxes online. But I was pretty annoyed that she lied to me. 

I have a disabled adult son who I would like to buy a duplex for so he’ll always have someplace to live and have a little extra income from the rental in the other side. 

I want to buy the home I’m in. It’s right across the street from my son. 

I’m not wealthy, and I would really need to sell the house in Florida to make the down payments on these properties. 

So I started thinking of other lies and excuses I’ve been given and decided to list the house on Zillow. Within 24 hours I received a full price offer. In fact, I’ve received dozens. 

I sent the offer to my SO’s son-in-law who is a realtor/developer in Florida. He said it was a legit offer and I should accept it. The offer is for four times what I offered the house to my sister for. 

So I accepted the offer. I also offered my sister $10,000 to relocate. 

I’ve sent my sister three separate contracts, which I paid an attorney to prepare. She said she never received them. Even though I placed one directly in her hand. We never signed them. We never closed. She kept coming up with excuses. 

The fallout has been very unpleasant. I’m afraid she’s going to try to hold me to a contract that was never signed. 

I don’t feel she has a leg to stand on. But who knows. Maybe I’m wrong?