ask george & chuck
Feb. 5, 2007

Listing houses for sale without permission, what the REALTOR® trademark means ...
Answers to real estate questions as appearing
in the Houston Chronicle

Dear George: Why is someone who works in real estate called a "REALTOR®" with capital letters? No other profession I know of is written like that. REALTORS® are not gods, physicians, engineers, or lawyers. If someone with only a real estate license should be referred to with all capital letter, I would say that all professions should be written with capital letters. This irritates me.

Answer: The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Asssociation of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Go to the Web site of the National Association of REALTORS® for a more detailed explanation about the use of the term.

Dear George: A year after I bought a house, I got married. We divorced six months after the wedding, and I decided to sell the house to my ex-husband. I conveyed title with a deed of trust that named me as the lien holder. This was recorded by my attorney. My ex-husband was going to get financing and, in the meantime, was supposed to make monthly payments to me as the lienholder. He has neither gotten financing nor made a payment, and has listed the house for sale. If it sells, I might not break even. Should I sell off some of my IRA to fix up the house and sell it or rent it out? I keep getting letters from people who want to buy me out. How do those deals work?

Answer: Generally speaking, folks who make a profit from buying out a lienholder's position under a deed of trust are looking for a credit-worthy tenant or a substantial bargain so they can make money by flipping the property. Have your attorney handle any such negotiations should you choose to respond to any of these buy-out offers. Have you considered hiring a REALTOR® with successful property-management experience to lease your property? You may have to post it for foreclosure, since you conveyed title to your ex-husband. Or hire the REALTOR® to lease your property and list it for sale through the MLS at a price sufficient to get you out whole, including closing costs. Just keep the property listed until the market catches up to your asking price.

Dear George: I have a piece of property that I paid off a year ago. However, I cannot get the note holder to sign a release of lien. I need clear title to sell the property. Do I have any legal recourse?

Answer: You've got to go to court.

Dear George: My husband and I had talked to a REALTOR® five months ago about putting our house on the market. The REALTOR® didn't live up to her promises. Therefore, we decided to not sell our house through her. Since then, we decided to stay in our house and refinance. However, the lender said we couldn't refinance since our house was for sale. We never signed any contract with the REALTOR®. What can we do? It doesn't seem right that the REALTOR® is able to list our house and post it on the MLS Web site without a signed contract.

Answer: A real estate licensee cannot offer your property for sale without your knowledge and approval. It is a violation of the Texas Real Estate License Act for a real estate licensee to make the material misrepresentation that a property is listed for sale when it is not. This includes entering a property into the MLS without a valid listing agreement. File a written complaint against the broker and his agent with the Texas Real Estate Commission. You may also choose to hire an attorney.