I am a renter in a house. The owner is now selling the house. In May the air conditioner needed to be replaced and it was put under MY name, as his credit was not good and mine was good. I want to make sure the balance gets paid before he sells. Can you help me?
You can file for an equitable lien because you (a) advanced funds on the owner's behalf (b) for the improvement of the property. You will have to allege you did so with the understanding the property would stand as security for the debt, but that's a pretty standard allegation. You will also need to record a notice of lis pendens once you file suit to make sure your claim shows up in a title search for the property (which insures he cannot sell without paying you). Florida small claims court jurisdiction now covers claims up to $8,000. So if the amount is below that amount, you could try bringing your claim in small claims court. But frankly, given the pending sale, you want to do this right for it to work, so you should probably get an attorney's help to file this. The good news is, if he has a buyer, he should be motivated to agree with you quickly so as not to lose the sale.