Aug. 23, 2010
Dear George: I'm searching for a new home and signed a six-month Residential Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement with a REALTOR®. After I signed the agreement, my brother told me that he's selling his home. I'd like to buy it, but I don't want to my brother to be obligated to compensate my REALTOR®. Can I get out of my agreement?
Answer: No. There are provisions for terminating your agreement, but they involve termination with cause. An example would be if the REALTOR® failed to perform one of his fiduciary obligations.
Dear George: We hired a Texas REALTOR® to lease our home. The tenant he found invited several people to live with him without our authorization and made modifications to the property without our permission. We had to evict the tenant, and the property was trashed. I'm upset with the REALTOR® for leasing to such a person, but he says that he's not responsible doing background checks on prospective tenants. Is this correct?
Answer: You likely signed a Residential Real Estate Listing Agreement, Exclusive Right to Lease with the REALTOR®, which means that your REALTOR® is correct. Nowhere in that agreement does it require him to perform a background credit or credit check. The REALTOR® is required to submit the tenant's offer to you, which you signed. In Paragraph 33 of that offer, several items are accompanied by checkboxes, including Residential Lease Application. If that item was checked, you'd know whether the tenant agreed to have a background check performed. If you had a question regarding who was going to perform the background check you should have asked the REALTOR® before you accepted the offer.
E-mail a question to ask George & Chuck or fax it to 713-978-6684. The answers to questions in this column do not contain legal advice. If you wish to obtain legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.
