Renter not leaving after seller’s offering of temporary lease
Q: I bought a new home recently and signed a seller’s temporary lease form allowing the seller to stay there for two more weeks. After that, the seller had to pay $150 per day rent as a holdover tenant. The seller refuses to leave, and the real estate agent says I can’t evict them since they are paying the rent. What can I do?
A: Where did the real estate agent go to law school? It must have been an unaccredited school in another state. The term of the lease is for two weeks. After that, the tenant becomes a holdover tenant at sufferance and is paying a penalty for doing so. Evict them.
Go to the local justice of the peace court and they will walk you through the procedure.
As the owner, you don’t need a lawyer, but you may want to have one available to help.
Q: I have a listing on a home outside of Houston. The small town that it is located in just gave the owner a condemnation notice. The owner assures me that this is a mistake and he will take care of the matter with the city. Do I need to disclose this to a potential buyer?
A: Yes. The Texas Real Estate License Act requires that a license holder disclose all defects. A condemnation notice is a hint that there’s a defect. Disclose, disclose, disclose.
Q: I just got a higher offer on my house. The first contract that I signed was only by electronic signature. Is it binding, or can I go forward with this higher and better offer?
A: An electronic signature can be anything — a sound, a mark, a typed name, almost anything. And yes, it is binding. There are more and more cases coming out that confirm this. Texts, emails, tweets and an affirmative grunt can be binding also. Beware of electronic transmittals, as they can be binding contracts.
Q: The TREC-sponsored earned money contracts say that the earnest money is deposited upon execution of the contract. How can I do this when we sign the contract on a Sunday or a holiday?
A: Logic compels us to say that you get the earnest money to the title company as soon as reasonably possible.
There is a new proposed contract revision that will give the buyer three days to deposit the earnest money. This may help. Especially with earnest money that is deposited with the title company by electronic means.
If the Texas Real Estate Commission approves the revision, all these problems may be solved.
Q: I’m 26, recently married, and my wife and I are discussing buying a house. I want to, but she wants to continue to rent. I have always been taught to buy as much as I can, put down as little as possible and leverage myself to prosperity by paying off my own home and getting a tax deduction for the interest payments. My wife says this is “old school” and renting is cheaper in the long run. What are your thoughts on this?
A: We’re kind of down the middle. The tax deductions might be legislated away by Congress. Right now rent may be cheap, but you can’t control it and it may go up. We have run the numbers many times, and we are proponents of homeownership. We still like the equity buildup, constancy of the mortgage payments, and the increase in value of a prudently selected home in a good neighborhood. It also gives you a certain level of belonging to a community. Leverage is not a good idea if the market goes down, and it may be cyclical. More and more people are utilizing 15-year loans. You pay off the house a lot quicker, pay a lot less interest, and the increase in mortgage payments between 15 and 30 years is surprisingly low. Go find a good Realtor and have a long talk about your future plans.
To send a question visit www.AskGeorge.net and select the “Ask A Question” button. Answers to questions do not contain legal advice. If you wish to obtain legal advice, you should consult your own attorney. George Stephens is the broker of Stephens Properties. Charles J. Jacobus, J.D. is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in residential and commercial real estate law.