Strung Out On Drugs?
Would any of you old timers like to answer this one?
Would you sign a pre-foreclosure contract with someone who is on crack? Will mental capacity come back to bite me? Undue or unconscious advantage? Any ideas? 
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I would walk away.....
you must have a meeting of the minds..you would be missing one....
Excellent question!
In order for a contracto be valid, it must have legally competent parties.
"If someone makes a contract while drugged or intoxicated, the contract is voidable by that person. A voidable contract will be considered by the courts to be valid if the party who has the option to disaffirm the agreement does not do so within a prescribed period of time. In questions of legal competency, it may be desireable to refer to the client's lawyer" (Modern Rel Estate Practice in NC)
As I reca, the druggie could cancel the contract and say he didn't know what he was doing at any time up to closing. If you have any doubts, as the book says, speak to the druggies attorney.
Good Luck!
We have an ongoing problem in and around LaLa land. It is really difficult to know wether the contracting party is on drugs or not. The behavoir of a major portion of the population leads me to believe that most are bombed out of their minds most of the time. I am in the office of one of our leading law firms, Oh my, are they high, the whole time I am talking to this Lawyer type he is popping pills like he was a slot machine. I finaly reached across the table and grabbed one. Uppers! Safe in my graduate degrees I grab his hand and start to counsel. Seems this is his answer for everything. Uppers at the office and in trial, then Downers at night when he gets home so he does not fly up the chimmny. He then smokes at least three joints a night.and to bed. He says its necessary just to look at his wife. I have met her and he is wrong, two would handle the job. Guy is making over $500,000 a year as a partner. He needs therapy and NOW, will he get it? No. why should he almost all of his clients are riding the same horse.
Question: If he performs a contractual service for me can I at a latter date sue him on the basis of his condition while creating the contract? Answer, no. Why? He never wrote the contract his ParaLegal or long suffering Legal Secretary was the hidden author with an assist from an on line service.
In the late 1800 half of London was turned on by Opium (Laudanum) In the 1920's most of America was bombed on booze. In this most advanced of times it seems its pills, pills. Am I the only sober one around? I am high on life is that allowed. Will I find myself in a court of law defending some contractual agreement I entered into while sniffing the great out of doors. Of course once again here in LaLa land you are never too sure of the open air due to the many pollutants.
When I knock on the door of some person in foreclosure, I am not suprised that at door opening I get a blast of good stuff that would give you a contact high from a distance of 20 feet. Can my future client be considered capable of contracting when he/she/it is chain smoking a joint that looks like a cigar? I am afraid that with all of my years of experience I do not have an answer. Perhaps some one of you associate Investors in Real Estate from more solid communities, Perhaps somewhere in Main? Vermont? Its a puzzlement. In the meantime I'm out of papers and sage powder. Lucius
I don't know how having someone that is inebriated and therefore incompetent signing another legally binding document would save either one. The reality of the situation is that it goes to your risk. Is the risk very high that a guy high on crack is going to marshall his last few brain cells to go to court and make a cogent argument regarding the inequities in which he was in and the economic duress you subjected him to? Not real likely. Are you willing to take the risk? That is for you to decide.
To esteemed counsel from the Left Coast, here in middle america the two biggest economies are both underground. One manufacuring meth and the other farming the herb that your citizens are putting in their pipes. Buying and selling from the former can be a problem, the latter usually have enough for an all cash deal or need to leave the area quickly.
Thanks you guys! I kinda figured the same thing. It felt real "iffy"! Especially, with all the laws about unconsciousable advantage. The situation as of now is that his daughter put him in a rehab and the sale is scheduled for Monday. There is considerable equity and the daughter is somewhat knowledgeable but is up north, in Sacramento. She states that the bank is going to postpone the sale but as of yet they haven't. With her being in the picture - with a poa it makes me feel alot better about negotiating. I wasn't sure if he was strung out or not but I did kinda get that vibe from him. I think you guys are all right! Better to be safe than sorry!
Thanks for all your feedback!
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