Husband in divorce preventing home’s showing
Q: My husband and I are getting a divorce and the judge told us to list our house , which we did.
The problem is that my husband is still living in the house and makes it very hard for our Realtor to show it. He always has a “good excuse” to deny a showing and I’m getting frustrated. What should I do?
A: It’s time to call your divorce lawyer and get this man in front of a judge. He doesn’t want to sell the house, we bet, and is putting every stumbling block in your way.
This kind of misconduct seldom stops until there’s a court order.
Q: My wife and I have been using a Realtor to look at houses, but we happened upon a development of new homes and fell in love with a house. I don’t know if it makes any sense to have our Realtor involved anymore since it’s new construction. We signed a paper where we agreed to work with this Realtor exclusively, but do we have to use him if it’s not in the MLS? We like this Realtor, and he’s shown us a lot of homes, but I think we can get a better deal if we don’t use him. What do you think?
A: You hired this Realtor and they expect to get paid. Isn’t that what you promised? Have you told your agent about this house? They may be able to get you a better deal if you ask. Contracts mean something, so don’t renege on your promise.
Q: We have a contract on our house and they have a 10-day option period. They had an inspection done and the repairs suggested by the inspector were estimated by an online company. The total repair estimate came up to over $40,000. Some of the repairs were things like $15 to replace a light bulb, but some of there were legitimate.
Can we request that they get actual estimates, so we can negotiate repairs in good faith?
A: Do you think these people are negotiating in good faith? Give us a break. Refuse to do any repairs and see how “good faith” their offer was. We doubt they will play along.
Q: Wow, I got two offers on my house. One is for all cash and the other buyer needs financing, but they have a preapproval letter. The one with financing is for more money, so we’d rather go with that one. Are we being foolish to pass up the cash offer?
A: Every contract has an element of risk. The cash offer may well be lower because the potential buyer low-balled you on the value because the terms were attractive. If the other buyer has a preapproval letter, you’ve lowered your risk somewhat, but those letters are seldom binding on the lender. There is a feeling one often gets about the potential buyer.
Discuss it with your real estate agent and let their experience guide you through this.
Personally, we’ve always favored the money. 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, consult your 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.