| |
 Dear George: My REALTOR® tried to submit an offer to the listing broker of a property. However, the listing broker refused to accept the offer, saying, "We do not sell to Iraqis or Iranians because they are all terrorists." I've filed a complaint with HUD. Do you have any other suggestions?
Answer: You should file a complaint with the Texas Real Estate Commission. Additionally, if the listing broker is a member of the Texas Association of REALTORS®, call TAR at 800/873-9155 and ask to speak with someone regarding the association's Ombudsman Program. A member of the Professional Standards Department will explain the details of this free program to you, which is designed to handle situations like yours.
Dear George: My wife and I started looking for houses in April by ourselves. We found one we wanted and called the listing agent. We met with him and decided we wanted to look at some other houses that he suggested. After a few showings, the agent brought out a Residential Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement and said we should sign it. My wife asked to take it with us and look it over, but the agent didn't want that. We signed it.
We didn't get a chance to look it over thoroughly and failed to notice that it binds us to this this agent until December. We located a house on our own and asked the agent to show it to us. We put in a written offer that was countered. We never saw anything in writing showing the counteroffers. Everything was verbal, according to the agent, after our first purchase agreement was submitted. This and a few other encounters convinced us that the agent wasn't representing our interests. I called him and asked that he release us from the contract. He said, "Sure for $500 dollars." What else can I do?
Answer: Read the following from the Texas Real Estate Commission: TREC Ethics MCE Conflicts Arising in Early Termination of Agency. The pertinent part states: "Agency may be terminated at any time by either party; however, an early termination without cause may expose the terminating party to liability under the agency agreement." If what you allege is true and you can prove it, you may have cause. Report the conduct of the agent to his broker, who is ultimately held accountable for all the authorized actions of the agent.
|
| Dear George: Is a lease with option to buy real estate legal in Texas?
Answer: There are no standard promulgated forms for these transactions. If the term of the lease is longer than 180 days, the penalties for noncompliance are severe.
Dear George: We're selling our home, and our agent isn't working very well for us. We recently got a contract that fell through due to the home inspection. Do I have to let the inspection be shown to future buyers? We've since taken care of every legitimate repair except the roof that the prospective buyer cited when he terminated the contract. My agent says I have to show it, but it can be detrimental to the sale of our house. Also the buyer brought his insurance agent. Is that legal?
Answer: Yes, if you have a copy of the previous inspection report, you should provide it to prospective buyers, although it is not required by statute. Otherwise, you are required to disclose that there was a previous inspection report, the name of the person who performed the inspection, and any other pertinent information that you know. Remember, you are making the disclosure to a prospective purchaser. It can be an excellent sales tool to show the inspection and then show that you've addressed most of the problems.
As far as whether it was legal for the buyer to bring his insurance agent without your knowledge, Paragraph 7 of the contract into which you entered states: "Seller shall permit Buyer and Buyer’s agents access to the Property at reasonable times. Buyer may have the Property inspected by inspectors selected by Buyer and licensed by TREC or otherwise permitted by law to make inspections."
|
|
