I'm looking for a real estate attorney to give me some advice on how to proceed with a developer out here in Midland. Long story, but the developer kept saying that there were deed restrictions on the land we bought. Turns out it looks like he never filed the restrictions with the county. That isn't the only thing that this guy wasn't honest about and now I'm sitting on some land that I'm not sure what to do with or how to proceed. I'm not looking for free advice, I'd like to hire a good real estate attorney to listen to the whole story and tell me what my options are.

I'm also curious if the neighbors should know that they were lied to as well about the "restrictions", one of which was you had to use the developer as the builder. So this guy went around saying the restrictions on the property required you to use him as the builder and build at least a 2800 square foot house.

Is this the place with all the spiders?

You didn't verify the restrictions before you closed?

Not the place with the spiders.

I wasn't concerned with the restrictions until I found out the guy was a crook and decided not to use him as a builder.

Ok here is a little more background. When we decided not to use him as a builder, I looked through our closing paperwork on the land for a copy of the restrictions and I couldn't find them. And then asked our realtor if she had ever seen a copy and she said she hadn't. And we went ahead and put the land up for sale and the realtor asked me for the copy of the restrictions and I said I couldn't find them. I went back to the title company and the attorney at the title company who did the closing and he said there were no restrictions that he could find. So then I went to Martin County and pulled the plat map and lo and behold there are no restrictions on this entire sub development. now he's creating a new sub development just north of the one that I bought in and the guy remembered to file those restrictions, but the one I'm in has no restrictions.

I'm telling you this is a long story.

No offense and I'm certainly not an attorney but restrictions are public record. This seems like a matter of due diligence.

I agree and have found that the restrictions he spoke of are not in the public record. However, I'm sure I'm not the first he has told this to to get someone to use him as the builder and there is still land for sale in the development that states on the listing "restricted development".

We were lied to from the beginning, the realtor lied, the developer lied about the cost of building with him, they didn't disclose a pipeline they said there was a well on property and there wasn't. It's a mess, but now I find I'm sitting on a 4.8 acre piece of property with no restrictions and it has me thinking about what to build out there.

I know I should have done my due diligence to begin with, I just trying to make some lemonade out of the lemons and need some legal advice because I'm thinking about a sign that says "Beto's RV park, coming soon" and a letter to the neighbors explaining they've been lied to.