All Forum Posts by: Tina Granger

Welcome to Bigger Pockets Elizabeth! Wishing you great success!

Tina

If you didn't sign a buyer representation agreement with the agent, she doesn't represent you.

Good Morning Christina and welcome to BP! There are some wonderful people and opportunities here and I wish you great success and that you are able to live your dreams! Children are such a blessing...

I stand corrected by the Wisconsin contract contingency! In Texas, it is an unrestricted right to terminate for ANY REASON!

It is an option to be released from the contract FOR ANY REASON and not contingent on performing an inspection but guaranteeing his earnest money refund. So it benefits the buyer, not the seller. There isn't enough information here... did he pay for the option or stop payment on that too? If he did... he doesn't have an option (which means he can't get out for any reason). Perhaps the agent should have talked to the seller (and he may have) and it all could have been avoided and they would have just let him walk away, tear up the contract, hand him his check, and moved on to the next "supposed" offer. (The property would be back on the market immediately). Why do you think the sellers didn't do that?? Why do you think the buyer stopped payment on the check??

Broker/lawyer committees put these agreements together as a result of lawsuits. The attempt is to be fair to all parties involved in the agreements.

I may be new to investing but I am not new to real estate. This was an unbiased contribution from my area of expertise on what I would have told the gentleman that made the initial post if he had asked me... based on the information he provided. Oh wait, he did ask!

Bill Gulley you are most correct. From the real estate agent perspective (the use of the registered trademark name Realtor(R) means you simply paid fees to be a member of the National Association of Realtors) you must be licensed to do third party property management. (You/company manages other peoples property.) Rich Weese Licensing is a requirement in Texas! If you work directly for a property owner (as an employee) a license is not required. As Karen said, you can manage your own properties without a RE license.

I am not sure what the laws are for Wisconsin (I'm in Texas) or the details of the contract you signed with the seller, but I would think the general process is the same. If you signed a contract with the seller and cancelled your earnest money check so that it could not be deposited you are most likely in breach of your contract. (Consult an attorney, YOUR attorney, for review of the contract before paying money to anyone.) If the earnest money check had been deposited and you also PAID (additional check made payable to owners) for an option (time in which to do inspections) in the contract, you likely have the unrestricted right to cancel the contract FOR ANY REASON, but you have to do it through the correct process. A real estate agent is required to deposit an earnest money check and have the contract receipted within a certain time frame after a contract is signed.

If you would have "opted out" during the option period stated in the contract (Again, that is how the process works in Texas), you would have received your earnest money deposit back, but would have taken about 30 days (a release is usually signed by both parties for it to be released). Not sure if your state closes at title companies or attorney offices... so that may change the process some.

YOUR attorney should be able to advise you on the best way to proceed.

Congratulations on your deal Danny and welcome to BP from a fellow Texan! I look forward to hearing more from you!

Tina

Bruce:

If your offer was not accepted, the title company would not have received your earnest money check. The title company only accepts earnest money for executed contracts (both party has a written and signed agreement to buy and sell). If your offer wasn't accepted then the check would probably be in the possession of the realtor or realtors office. I would call the broker of the firm to inquire about the check and let them know what the situation about reaching your realtor has been. In either case, I would go ahead and put a stop payment on the check after making sure it has not cleared your account.

As a side note, real estate contracts are (at least in Texas) promulgated by a broker lawyer committee and filled in by realtors. So, there may not be a place in the earnest money section to put restrictions on when or how it is to be used if it isn't already in the contract. Most realtors will try to negotiate a deal before providing the earnest money along with the contract, but in a multiple offer situation that may not be the case.

Contacting the real estate commission is always an option, but I would trying and communicate the situation to the broker (many times they don't know the situation) but will very quickly get your issue resolved.

Good luck,
Tina

That sounds like a wonderful idea!