All Forum Posts by: Mark Minchew

Your property management agreement dictates how it is handled. There is never an implied POA so unless you purposefully entered into one, even limited, there is not one. Therefore the owner is the Landlord as he/she is Lord of the Land. The PM acts in the LL's stead and should not be confusing the lines of distinction.

If a LL wants to remain annonymous then they can use a legal Assumed Name but typically anyone can look at the tax rolls and make that determination. So to truly remain annonymous the ownership would need to be cloaked in a legal entity other than their name. 

Greg,

How sad it is that your post has been here over a year and no one has commented on it.  

Your answer is flawed endlessly.  The TAR Residential Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement, aka Buyer Broker Agreement (BBA) has been in force through three decades and is fully enforceable under Texas law.  

My following comments are my opinion based on years of practice and do not constitute legal advice.  One should seek legal advice when making a decision to enter into a contract of any kind.

Any serious buyer should carefully select an agent to represent their own best interest.  Texas is NOT a "Transaction" state and therefore all licensees must represent either the buyer or the seller.  If you want to have representation and have your agent keep your confidential information confidential, then you must have an agent represent you.  Otherwise the agent represents the owner.

Entering into a BBA contract is serious, but essential in having proper representation.  Research agents carefully to see if they have the proper training and experience to represent your needs.  Some of an agents education and years in the business can be found on the state licensing site: www.trec.state.tx.us/     The Texas Real Estate Commission: (aka TREC)

Anyone telling you to "Break" or "Terminate" a legally binding contract is careless and should not be giving advice without first advising you to seek a legal opinion to see if you have a binding contract.  There are ways to properly terminate such a contract and Greg's Plan B answer has some merit to it.  In my opinion it is always better to negotiate yourself out of an agreement or contract rather than litigate or worse yet, ignore it.  Seldom is there only one side to blame for a bad working relationship.  Consider what the agent has done for you and how you have responded.  Have they earnestly tried to accommodate you or not.  The BBA says the Broker's (aka: agent) obligation to you is to "(a) use Broker's best efforts to assist Client in acquiring property in the market area; (b) assist Client in negotiating the acquisition of property in the market area; and (c) comply with other provisions of this agreement."  If they have done that then they have not violated the agreement.  In that case you should seek a reasonable termination of the agreement recognizing that the agent may have expended a good deal of time working for you.  All agreements (contracts) with an agent in Texas go through the Broker.  If an agent is a Broker then he can terminate it, but if he is not you need his Broker to terminate the BBA.  It has been my experience that most agents and brokers want happy clients and will not hold you to a BBA, but in some cases the public will misuse an agent and usurp much of his or her time and want to terminate for little or no reason and may have complete disregard for the agent's efforts.  Is such a case the agent and/or broker may not be willing to just walk away from it.

In any case of termination, you the consumer must have a signed document by the maker of the Agreement and Broker of the company, acknowledging that they are voiding the BBA.  To terminate the BBA does not invalidate its enforceability completely.   If you purchase a property during the protection period (paragraph 11G) that the Broker introduced to you and then sent you notice after the termination date (new termination date in the case of terminating it), then you still owe the Broker the agreed to commission.  This provision is so that a buyer will not utilize the services of an agent/broker to find the property they want and then dismiss the agent and purchase the property on their own without the agent and try to negotiate a better deal since the agent is out or even worse, substituting in an agent who has done none of the work.

The only termination language in the BBA is when the period of time it covers is complete or in paragraph 13: Default.  If an agent/broker fails to comply with the agreement or makes false representations in the agreement then the buyer may exercise any remedy at law.  

Caution; Be careful whose advice you take.  Check out their credentials to see if they have the knowledge and experience to be giving such advice and always check more than one source.  Legal advice can only be given by an attorney so avoid taking advice of just anyone.

Mark Minchew, Broker

I list, sell, lease and manage real estate in Austin, Texas and have over 30 years experience. I work with Mom & Pop as well as sophisticated investors and everyday investors. I have completed over one hundred 1031 tax exchange transactions and have also completed many commercial sales, listings and leases. I have earned eleven advanced designations and a MS degree from Baylor University. I have closed over 3000 real estate transactions as an individual (not as a team or an office). I taught the Graduate, REALTORS Institute (GRI) for ten years and have been an invited speaker at many events. I was the National President of The Council of Residential Specialists (CRS) in 2012. I earned the "Circle of Legends" Award from RE/MAX International as well as many other production awards. I was a recipient of the Hall of Fame award through the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) for my RPAC participation and was inducted into the Omega Tau Rho fraternity of NAR for "outstanding contribution to REALTOR education". I also was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Council of REALTORS, RE/MAX International and the Medallion Award through CRS.

My goal in real estate is to increase the level of professionalism in our industry through practice and education and by doing this earn a good living for my family and myself.