Barbara Billiot Stage

The Florida Bar  # 0042467

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Current

Q. What are my legal rights if the owner sells the property while I'm living there under a verbal rent-for-work agreement?

April 21, 2025

A: You would be considered a month to month tenant and subject to eviction if you do not leave once you are given proper notice. While an eviction might take a few weeks, you could be considered a holdover tenant and subjected to double rent. The judge would impose market value rent.

Q. Will I be allowed to stay in my home during bankruptcy proceedings?

April 16, 2025

A: I'm sorry for your loss.

There is an automatic stay that is issued when you file. This stops all collections and holds off the eviction process. You should consult with a bankruptcy lawyer to review your situation and advise you of the best way to proceed. May bankruptcy attorneys give free consultations. You can also check with the legal clinic in your federal district court (North, South or Middle District of Florida based on your county) to see if you can get some assistance there as well.

A Chapter 7 allows you to wipe out all debts that are not secured and either reaffirm secured debts (home, car) or redeem them (give them back to the lender). A Chapter 13 allows you to repay the past due amount of your debt over five years; however, there is a 10% fee the trustee gets (10% of your monthly payment). I have know the trustee to reduce the percentage for hardship cases.

The landowner of your mobile home can file a motion for relief from stay, meaning they can proceed with an eviction. I have not handled one of those cases to know if they actually do that or not and I will defer to my colleagues that practice debtor bankruptcy. ... Read More

Q. Can I sue a Miami car dealership and bank for fraud related to a car purchase?

April 3, 2025

A: You should take your documents to a lawyer right away. We do not have any way of reviewing your purchase agreement and contracts in this forum.

Most used car sales are "as is" and it's up to the buyer to have the car inspected prior to purchase irrespective of what the seller states.

The problem you have is the financing is with the bank and the bank has the right to repossess the car and sue you for any deficiency if you don't pay. The one thing you have going in your favor is it appears from your post that the dealership did commit bank fraud and that maybe should be reported to the State Attorney's Office in your county to see if they will prosecute. I know from past experience car dealerships will claim you made a bigger down payment to get you a lower interest rate and lower payment so you will buy the car. The caveat is you need to be able to prove you had not signed anything acknowledging this bigger down payment that you did not make and that the difference isn't attributed to some dealership credit (which is not likely but not impossible either).

Seek legal advice with a personal consultation as soon as possible. ... Read More

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