How do I handle this... Breach of contract to lease my property?
A tenant signed a contract for a long term lease to begin March 10, 2023. The property is a 3 bed, 3.5 bath near downtown Houston. The property was fully furnished as I had it on Airbnb and Furnished Finders, but due to very low traffic on these platforms for suitable renters, I decided to get a long term tenant instead. I signed a 45 day contract with a realtor to find a tenant. The property was advertised either as unfurnished or furnished (for a higher rent). I signed a lease agreement with a tenant who wanted the house unfurnished; and I had only two days to remove all the furniture. On March 9, 2023, all furniture was removed, I notified all the utility companies to turn off supply under my name effective on March 10th, the tenant move in date. The realtor informed me that the tenant would pay his deposit by Cashiers check on March 9th but this did not happen. Yesterday was the move in date March 10, 2023, the realtor informed me that he had not heard back from neither the tenant nor the agent that showed him the property. I have disconnected all utilities including taken off the ring camera as the tenant said he did not want it, per the realtor. I have not rented a property before so I do not know if the realtor is in cohort with the tenant or if this is a strange occurrence. What recourse do I have? The realtor said that if the tenant does not show up, the contract will expire by midnight on March 11, 2023.
This is very confusing for me... I moved the entire furniture out and it is costing me to pay for storage.
What do you recommend I do? What is the protocol for this breach of contract? Should I go ahead and turn the utilities back on? Should I still trust this realtor? The realtor has two prospective applications pending and he said he would contact the other two people who have completed their application...I don't know what to do.