Section 559A.04 - CONTRACTS FOR DEED INVOLVING INVESTOR SELLERS AND RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY; RIGHTS AND REQUIREMENTSSubdivision 1. Requirement of investor seller if property subject to mortgage. An investor may not execute a contract for deed that is subject to a mortgage with a due-on-sale clause and not expressly assumed by the contract for deed purchaser unless the investor seller has: (1) procured a binding agreement with the mortgage holder whereby the holder either consents to the sale of the property to the purchaser by contract for deed or agrees not to exercise the holder's rights under a due-on-sale clause in the mortgage based on the contract for deed; and(2) in the contract: (i) disclosed the existence of the investor seller's mortgage;(ii) covenants that the investor seller will perform all obligations under the mortgage; and(iii) expressly represents to the purchaser that the seller has procured the binding agreement required under clause (1).Subd. 2. Right to cancel purchase agreement. (a) A prospective purchaser may cancel a purchase agreement prior to the execution by all parties of the contract for deed or within ten calendar days of receiving the disclosures required under section 559A.03, whichever is earlier. A purchaser's execution of the contract for deed earlier than ten calendar days of receiving the disclosures shall not excuse, constitute a waiver of, or constitute a defense regarding an investor seller's violation of section 559A.03, subdivision 1, paragraph (b) or (c).(b) In addition to the disclosures required under section 559A.03, an investor seller must provide the prospective purchaser with notice of the person to whom, and the mailing address to where, cancellation of the purchase agreement must be delivered or sent. Cancellation of the purchase agreement is effective upon personal delivery or upon mailing.(c) In the event of cancellation or if no purchase agreement has been signed and the prospective purchaser elects not to execute the contract for deed, the investor seller may not impose a penalty or fee and must promptly refund all payments made by the prospective purchaser.Subd. 3. Duty of investor seller to account. The investor seller must inform the purchaser in a separate writing of the right to request an annual accounting. Upon reasonable written request by the purchaser and no more than once every calendar year, an investor seller must provide an accounting of: (1) all payments made pursuant to the contract for deed during the prior calendar year with payments allocated between interest and principal;(2) any delinquent payments;(3) the total principal amount remaining to satisfy the contract for deed; and(4) the anticipated amounts and due dates of all balloon payments.Subd. 4. Churning prohibited. (a) An investor seller is prohibited from churning. There is a rebuttable presumption that the investor seller has violated this subdivision if, on or after August 1, 2024, the investor seller executes a contract for deed and, within the previous 48 months, the investor seller either:(1) had completed two or more termination proceedings under section 559.21 on the same residential real property being sold by the contract for deed; or (2) had completed four or more termination proceedings under section 559.21 on contracts for deed for any residential real property, where terminated contracts comprise 20 percent or more of all contracts executed by the investor seller during that period. (b) Nothing contained in this subdivision or in section 559A.01, subdivision 3, shall invalidate, impair, affect, or give rise to any cause of action with respect to any contract for deed or termination proceeding under section 559.21 used as a predicate to establish the presumption under paragraph (a).(c) For the purposes of this subdivision, a person who sold residential real property on a contract for deed is deemed to be the same person as the investor seller where the person who sold on a contract for deed:(1) is owned or controlled, in whole or in part, by the investor seller;(2) owns or controls, in whole or in part, the investor seller;(3) is under common ownership or control, in whole or in part, with the investor seller;(4) is a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or cousin of the investor seller, or of the natural person who owns or controls, in whole or in part, the investor seller; or(5) is an entity owned or controlled, in whole or in part, by a person who is a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or cousin of the investor seller, or of the natural person who owns or controls, in whole or in part, the investor seller.Subd. 5. Duty of investor seller to refund down payments. (a) If an investor seller terminates a contract for deed under section 559.21 within 48 months of executing the contract, any portion of the down payment that exceeded ten percent of the purchase price shall be refunded to the purchaser within 180 days of the termination of the contract.(b) Upon delivery to the purchaser by the investor seller of reasonable documentation that any of the following expenses were incurred or taxes and contract payments were unpaid, an investor seller may offset against the refund for, as applicable: (1) any unpaid real estate taxes for the period prior to termination of the contract; (2) any unpaid insurance premiums for the period prior to termination of the contract incurred by the investor seller;(3) the reasonable cost of necessary repairs for damage to the residential real property caused by the purchaser, beyond ordinary wear and tear, incurred by the investor seller;(4) attorney fees, not to exceed $1,000, and costs of service incurred in connection with the termination of the contract;(5) any unpaid utility arrears for the period prior to termination of the contract incurred by the investor seller; and(6) one-half of the unpaid monthly contract installment payments, exclusive of balloon payments, that accrued prior to termination of the contract. (c) If the purchaser disputes any amount that an investor seller claims as the refund or an offset, the purchaser may commence an action in district court or conciliation court to determine the amount of the refund or the offsets and recover any money owed by the investor seller to the purchaser. The purchaser is entitled to recover from the investor seller any portion of the down payment that the court finds is owed by the investor seller to the purchaser not previously paid to the purchaser. Any attorney expressly authorized by the investor seller to receive payments in the notice of termination is designated as the attorney who may receive service as agent for the investor seller in such action in the same manner as provided in section 559.21, subdivision 8. Added by 2024 Minn. Laws, ch. 123,s 16-15, eff. 8/1/2024.