Was the house in his name even though your mother was living there? The legal angles often don't make any sense to me. If the house was in your mother's name I expect you could have made a claim against her estate (if you'd kept a record of your payments). If it was in your brothers name and he just sold it, you wouldn't have had much legal recourse that I can think of. I guess the lesson here is to always get a contract... but of course family members will lean hard on your "obligation" so they can fleece you out of money. Sorry to hear that happened. I guess if those are that guy's true colors, it was best that you found out when you did.