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 Dear George: I signed a Texas Association of REALTORS® residential lease on my townhouse. This week, the air conditioner stopped working. I called the landlord and left her a message; I also e-mailed her about the problem. She called me the next day and sent out an air-conditioner repair person who said the problem was electrical. That afternoon, an electrician came out and said the problem was caused by a short circuit in the wall. He gave my landlord a bid the next day. She's gone out and solicited three more bids. Meanwhile, my townhouse is unliveable in the heat and humidity. What can I do?
Answer: Assuming you're talking about the most current version of Texas Association of REALTORS® form 2001, Section 18 C (1)(d)(1) states that the landlord will pay for air-conditiong repairs entirely, as long as they're not caused by tenant negligence. You sent your landlord your request in writing (e-mail). If you're current in your rent, the landlord seems to be taking an unreasonable length of time by obtaining four bids. She should have already lined up someone to make the repairs. If your landlord hasn't yet hired a contractor, send her an e-mail requesting permission for you to hire a qualified contractor to make the repairs. Offer to pay her the difference between the cost of your contractor and any written quote she obtains.
Otherwise, you need to move to a hotel or friend's or relative's house until the air conditioner is working. Don't expect her to reduce your rent for this cost. You are still responsible for full payment of the rent, although you do have some options for obtaining some relief, since it appears your landlord violated a lease provision. You can seek relief in small-claims court.
Dear George: I live in Houston, and there is a home being built next door that violates the deed restrictions. These existing deed restrictions state that homes should be built no closer than 3 feet from the property line. The home in question is only 1.5 feet from my property line and is causing flooding and additional damage to my property. What can I do?
Answer: Wow. Your question raises so many issues. For example, did the city approve the drainage plan for permitting? Who enforces the deed restrictions in this neighborhood? Most of these questions can be answered by visiting the legal section of the City of Houston Web site. It provides a wealth of information about deed-restriction enforcement including a complaint form.
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| Dear George: I recently signed a contract on a house with my sister. We had a verbal agreement with which she convinced me to do this stupid thing. Her and her husband's credit are terrible. However, with my name on the mortgage, she got the house with no money down. During our two months in the home, she's paid the mortgage and all the bills without any money from me. Now I want out. How can I get my name off the title and mortgage?
Answer: If you deed the property to her, it will probably violate the due-on-transfer clause in the mortgage. Always remember that when you co-sign with somebody, you become the responsible party in the long run if anything goes wrong. When you and your sister purchased the property, you were most likely deeded the property as either joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants in common. In either situation, you can force the sale of the property by filing a partition lawsuit in which the court orders the property sold and the proceeds divided among the tenants in common or joint tenants. A partition lawsuit, however, means that one of the parties to the lawsuit (you), really wants to end the co-ownership of the property and in the absence of an agreement of the other party (your sister and her husband) to sell, seeks a judicial order to sell the property.
Dear George: How long is the contract good between a seller and a real estate agent? What can I do if I think my agent is setting the price too high so that it won't sell and I'll eventually accept a low offer from the agent's relative?
Answer: The length of time a listing agreement lasts is called the term, which is listed as item number 4 on your Residential Real Estate Listing Agreement Exclusive Right To Sell. The term sets forth the date the listing begins and the date the listing ends at 11:59 p.m.
A real estate agent cannot set the asking price without your permission. Regardless of the asking price, if a person to whom you want to sell your property submits a written offer that you want to accept, just accept it. You can accept any offer despite what your listing agent recommends because you own the house. Likewise, if you don't want to accept an offer, reject it. The listing agent and the real estate brokerage firm for which the agent works have six fiduciary duties to you: care and due diligence, confidentiality, obedience, accountability, loyalty, and disclosure. The fiduciary duty of obedience means that the real estate agent must obey all lawful instructions from you.
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