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 Dear George: My mother decided to sell a portion of her land, but first it needed to be platted. The platting process took a long time, during which she passed away. I inherited the property and don't want to sell any of it. Does her previous commitment apply to me?
Answer: If your mother signed a Texas contract, you are bound by it. Unless the contact contained language to the contrary, it is construed as being binding upon the person who signed it and her heirs. If your mother did not sign a contract but rather had a verbal agreement to sell, you are not required to sell. In order to have a valid agreement to sell real property, it typically must be in writing and signed by the parties to be charged with accountability.
Dear George: In a Texas residential contract receipted by a title company, are the dollar amounts written into the contract understood to be in U.S. dollars? I'm specifically talking about the earnest money in Paragraph 5 and the option fee in Paragraph 23. According to the contract, the buyers owed us, the sellers, a $100 option fee. The check we received, which drew from a foreign bank, was written for 100 "dollars" but worth only $80.90 according to our bank. A similar exchange-rate conversion resulted in us receiving about $100 less than the contracted earnest money. We and the buyers are represented by REALTORS®. We want to exercise our right to terminate, because we believe the buyers are in default. Do you agree?
Answer: Failing any statement in the contract to the contrary, the amounts written into the contract are U.S. dollars. It's surprising that no one questioned whether the amounts indicated were U.S. dollars or not, since the funds were coming from a foreign country. As to the contract itself, failure to provide the option fee as set forth in Paragraph 23 within two days of the effective date of the contract simply means that the buyers did not purchase the unrestricted right to terminate the contract; the option period has no effect on the contract. However, since the buyers failed to deposit the correct amount of earnest money as required by the contract, the buyers are in default of the contract. Paragraph 15 outlines the remedies available to you.
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| Dear George: I own a condo where the homeowners association is responsible for all outside repairs. For the past four years, I have been plagued with a leaking roof and collapsing ceilings. The woodwork on the outside of the condo is rotten with visible holes. The place also needs painting. I have paid for all the repairs when the roof leaks into my unit, including damage to the ceilings. My HOA dues have been raised twice, and yet no exterior repairs have been done. Whom should I contact to remedy this problem? Is there a state agency that handles complaints against HOAs?
Answer: No, there is no state agency that oversees HOAs. You can get active in your association and become an expert in the condominium documents (i.e., condominium declaration, by-laws, articles of incorporation, etc.) This proactive participation can force change. Or, you can hire an attorney successful in this type of litigation and have him represent your interests.
Dear George: My husband and I purchased 50 acres of land without any mineral rights. An exploration firm, on behalf of an energy company, sent us a mineral surface-access agreement to conduct seismic tests on the land for nine months, with full and unrestricted right of ingress and egress at all times. The energy company wants to indemnify and hold the grantor harmless from any damages. They are willing to pay a consideration of only $25 per acre. Is this amount negotiable, and should they be liable for all damages?
Answer: Since the exploration company owns the minerals or has them under lease, it already has the right to go on the property and extract the minerals in any reasonable manner. They do, however, have a duty not to commit waste. You might be able get a waiver of surface rights, in which case they would agree to drill somewhere else. Otherwise, Texas looks at mineral owners as the dominant estate, and mineral owners have the right to extract their minerals. The $25 per acre may be only for the testing procedure.
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