 Dear George: I signed a current Texas Association of REALTORS® residential lease, which contains a TAR copyright notice. I don't think the landlord is aware of the copyright; his sister, a member of the Texas Association of REALTORS®, drew up the lease agreement as a favor to him. No broker is listed in Paragraph 34, Section G, and no one other than my landlord and I signed the lease or is listed on it.
Things have not gone well between me and the landlord, and I am now in default. The landlord took me to court, and his sister represented him, although her broker claims no interest in the property. His sister drew up additional paperwork on which her name and her broker's name appear. Are any of these documents enforceable because of the violation of the copyright? What about the fact that the sister didn't include her broker?
Answer: You signed the residential lease with your landlord, who was represented by a REALTOR®. There isn't a prohibition to TAR's copyright that would preclude a TAR member from using a TAR form, even though she may have used it badly or incompetently. Even if there were a violation of the copyright, a fact that is not in evidence based upon your allegations, the Texas Association of REALTORS® would have to take action to enforce it. The fact that her broker denies any involvement in the lease agreement is between her and her broker. The bottom line here is that you failed to pay the rent. You should consider securing legal counsel to represent your interests in court regarding your default. If you wish to pursue the separate matter of how a form may have been used, call the Texas Association of REALTORS® at 800/873-9155 and ask to speak with someone regarding the Ombudsman Program.
Dear George: If you offer the sellers of a home that you wish to purchase a letter of intent by giving it to your REALTOR®, does the sellers' REALTOR® have to present that letter of intent to her clients?
Answer: The listing REALTOR®, who represents the sellers, is required by Texas law to obey all lawful instructions she receives from her clients. Her clients in this case are the sellers, whom she represents in an agency capacity. The listing REALTOR® must present your letter of intent to the sellers only if the sellers allow it. Sellers might tell the listing REALTOR®, for example, that they don't want any letters of intent; they only want to be told about valid offers that they can accept or counter. In this example, the listing REALTOR® may require you to submit your letter of intent as an offer on the proper form. However, if the listing REALTOR® has received no such instructions from the sellers, she has a duty to tell her clients about all known information, including your letter of intent.
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Dear George: My 23-year-old son recently closed on his first house. He had an inspection performed, and did everything he could to ensure that any needed repairs were brought to the table before any papers were signed. He was sent away on business shortly after closing and asked me to watch his home. After a rain storm, I checked his property and discovered wet carpet in a bedroom. I pulled the carpet back to discover deteriorated wood and nails holding the carpet in place as well as wet cement underneath. Another baseboard in that area of the house appears rotted. All evidence points to this being a long-time problem.
I called the inspector. He said he couldn't perform any inspections that cause damage, such as pulling back a section of carpet. However, the rotted baseboard is clearly visible, and the inspector didn't note it. If he had noted the rotted wood, my son would've investigated further. Is the inspector responsible or the owner?
Answer: The owner of the property is most likely responsible, because the owner presented your son with a Seller's Disclosure Notice that contained false or misleading material facts regarding the property's condition. The inspector is correct in that he is responsible for disclosing only property conditions that can be observed with the naked eye. If the carpet had been cleaned or any other conditions prevailed that would make observing water damage without pulling up the carpet unreasonable, one cannot place any responsibility on the inspector for carpet damage or the underlying water penetration that caused it. However, if the rotted baseboard is clearly visible, the inspector should have called it out, and your son would have at least been notified that further investigation was in order.
Your son should interview several reputable contractors regarding the source of the water penetration and hire one to remediate the condition. That will also provide your son with an itemized cost upon which to base damages should it ever require litigation. It may be possible to settle in small claims court.
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