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 Dear George: I'd like an agent to represent me in the sale of my house but I want to make a couple of changes to the Texas Association of REALTORS® form Residential Real Estate Listing Agreement - Exclusive Right to Sell:
- Responsibility of entry to the property shall be at the sole risk of the potential purchaser, and the agent shall so notify potential purchaser
- Eliminate "disclose the sales price and terms of sale to other brokers, appraisers, or other real estate professionals" (the final price is nobody's business but those involved in the transaction)
- Eliminate "or otherwise: in the liability issue of "Seller agrees to protect, defend, indemnify, and hold Broker harmless from any damage, costs, attorney fees, and expenses that: 1) are caused by Seller, negligently or otherwise"
I think these are fairly easy clauses to adjust, but no agent/broker is willing to make any changes to the agreement, stating that TAR will not allow such changes. Can the standard listing agreement be altered?
Answer: The Residential Real Estate Listing Agreement - Exclusive Right to Sell can be altered by a TAR member broker because that broker is a party to the contract. We are not surprised that finding an agent/broker who is willing to make such changes is a difficult task for several reasons.
When you use the term agent/broker, you likely mean all agents (salespersons and brokers) affiliated with a particular real estate brokerage firm. However, only the designated officer for the real estate firm can make the changes to the listing agreement; he is the "broker of record" and is responsible for the actions of all the agents in that particular firm. If you aren't dealing with him, you're out of luck.
Even if a designated officer agreed to consider your changes, however, the first one is counter productive. It's an additional barrier to selling the property. Many agents do not like having to show properties that they must first obtain the owner's permission to show, or that they must also accompany, or when there are certain days a property may not be shown at all. This request is enough of a barrier to justify any designated officer's refusal.
The second change does not comply with the rules of the multiple listing service (MLS). If a principal wants to use the MLS as a tool to market the property, then the MLS has the right to require sales price disclosure so that other buyers who also want to use the MLS as a marketing tool can have an accurately reported sales price for comparative market analyses. A brokerage firm is not going to risk access to the MLS in order to accommodate a seller's wishes. The final change may be amenable to some brokerages. However, you may waste a lot of time interviewing firms to find one.
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| Dear George: A REALTOR® told me that if I sell my house, I have to pay 0.5% of the sale price to my homeowners association. Can this be true?
Answer: It's likely that membership in the HOA was mandatory when you purchased your home. Check the membership documents you signed; if the 0.5% requirement is there, then you agreed to it.
Dear George: Instead of foreclosing on properties, our HOA has the owner sign over the property to the association, so that the HOA fees are forgiven. The HOA manager, an employee of the board, auctions off the properties to the highest bidder. In the Real Estate License Act, Section 1101.002(1)(A)(vi), a brokerage is defined as activity to auction or offer, attempt, or agree to auction real estate with the expectation of receiving a commission or other valuable consideration. However, there is an exemption in Section 1101.005(4) of the act that states an auctioneer licensed under Chapter 1802, while conducting the sale of real estate by auction and not performing another act of a broker or salesperson, is not required to have a real estate license. Our manager has neither a broker license nor an auctioneer license. Can the manager legally auction off these real properties?
Answer: The manager of the HOA needs to be licensed as an auctioneer in Texas, but not as a real estate licensee, provided the HOA or its manager does not fall into one of the categories itemized in 1101.002 (1)(A).
Dear George: How much does a manufactured home depreciate per year?
Answer: Search on the terms Texas manufactured home depreciation using your Internet search engine.
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