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  1. #1
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    Default Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Texas
    I have a lease that states that the owners Realtor will act as her property manager. On the lease the Realtor's name and information are listed, not her brokers. I have had issues with the Realtor since day one. Long story short, I contacted TAR about her unethical behavior, they told me to contact her broker, he did not seem aware that she was acting as my property manager, and she has been fired. I paid the home owner, not the property manager. I have never dealt with a lease like this before and I was not aware that she should not have been doing this without her brokers approval. Are there any legal actions I can take against her? She has been threatening, showed up at my house yelling and screaming for me to pay rent. I made an account error during an electronic payment. That is when I contacted TAR. I told her I would pay after I spoke to her broker because I was very confused about my lease and I needed clarification. After she was fired I was told to contact only the homeowner. I communicated with her for the first time ever the day that the realtor was fired. The next day the homeowner told me to move out for failure to pay rent. Which I know she has a right to do. The homeowner emailed me saying she was releasing me from my lease and would return my deposit within 72 hours, minus the days I was there. After we moved my husband drove by to make sure we didn't have any mail and saw an eviction notice on the door. I have court next week. How can I be evicted when I don't live there? I don't even know who I should go after for my deposit. The owner or realtor? Can I file suit against either one for threatening behavior? The homeowner said she was going to go to my children's school and tell them we were evicted so they should not be allowed there anymore. It is a highly sought after neighborhood. There are many other things that were said and threatened. We moved because we did not feel safe with them. I left a family members address as my forwarding address. I am just at a loss of what to do. Thank you.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    Quote Quoting swirly6
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    Are there any legal actions I can take against her?
    You are free to report your experiences to any licensing agency or government agency that is willing to take your report, but the issue has nothing to do with your lease or its validity.
    Quote Quoting swirly6
    She has been threatening, showed up at my house yelling and screaming for me to pay rent. I made an account error during an electronic payment.
    If you don't want a property manager to demand overdue rent, avoid mistakes that result in your being overdue.
    Quote Quoting swirly6
    The next day the homeowner told me to move out for failure to pay rent. Which I know she has a right to do.
    The owner can give you notice over your failure to pay rent and, if you fail to cure the problem within the parameters of state law, can proceed with an eviction. It's not clear why you chose not to pay rent once you identified your 'account error', but it's not surprising that your landlord wants to be paid.
    Quote Quoting swirly6
    The homeowner emailed me saying she was releasing me from my lease and would return my deposit within 72 hours, minus the days I was there.
    If that's what you and your landlord agree as a resolution to your lease, that's certainly something you and your landlord can agree to do.
    Quote Quoting swirly6
    How can I be evicted when I don't live there?
    Your landlord is understandably protecting herself, in case you don't move out as agreed. You can work with your landlord to ensure that the case is dismissed in association with the terms of your settlement, once you're in full compliance.
    Quote Quoting swirly6
    I don't even know who I should go after for my deposit. The owner or realtor?
    If your landlord does not return your security deposit, you would go after your landlord for any improperly withheld portion of the deposit.
    Quote Quoting swirly6
    Can I file suit against either one for threatening behavior?
    Not unless you want to waste your time and money. You don't have even a hint of a case.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    Thank you...I think. It is extremely hard to explain the extent of this situation on a public forum. The reason rent was not paid as soon as I figured out the error was because I started looking at my lease more carefully and realized that a lot did not line up. I contacted the broker like suggested and was waiting to hear back from him before making another payment. The ombudsman I spoke with explained the property management process to me more and I was very unclear as to what my exact situation involved. Obviously the realtor was in the wrong or she would not have lost her job. And asking for rent is one thing. Showing up at my house, yelling, and threatening us in the late evening is not acceptable. This was not an ongoing thing. It was the first time we were even late. She broke several realtor ethics and I will be filing with that committee as well. But is it acceptable to completely lie on a lease?

    I have been out of the house for almost 2 weeks. she filed after I moved out. Why is this ok? Now it will be on my record when we had an agreement and I held up my end. She did not have to file to protect herself when I was not living there. She will not drop the case because she filed only to mess up my credit and reputation.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    Quote Quoting swirly6
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    The reason rent was not paid as soon as I figured out the error was because I started looking at my lease more carefully and realized that a lot did not line up.
    Again, your concerns about the property manager have absolutely no bearing on your lease, and very obviously they would not change the amount of rent you agreed to pay. You have not identified any "lie" on the lease, let alone one that would justify your failure to pay your rent on time.
    Quote Quoting swirly6
    Now it will be on my record when we had an agreement and I held up my end. She did not have to file to protect herself when I was not living there. She will not drop the case because she filed only to mess up my credit and reputation.
    I can't see your agreement from where I'm sitting, but if in fact you and the landlord did enter into an agreement that you would vacate the apartment and be released from paying rent past an agreed date, if you can prove that you moved out on time, and if you can prove that you paid every penny of your rent, you can present all of that as part of your defense to the eviction case and argue that the matter should be dismissed.

    If you have no evidence of an agreement and your landlord denies that any agreement exists, that's a problem. If there is no dispute over the terms of the agreement, but you moved out past the agreed date or failed to pay in full the agreed rent, that's a problem.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    I am honestly still not certain about my lease. I have only leased one house before that one. It was between us and the homeowner. No property manager involved. This lease is again between us and the homeowner, but it has the realtor as the property manager. The lease I just signed is between us and a property management company. So what is the difference? Why was the realtor listed as our property manager? What is the point of having this? I truly do not understand the difference in the types of leases. I have been researching for days and cannot find out what responsibilities she had as property manager compared to if the lease was between tenant and property management company. I felt as though the broker washed his hands of the situation by letting her go and stating that they had no responsibility with the lease. If her name, listed as broker, was on the lease as property manager, wouldn't that in fact make her the property manager? Even though the lease was with the owner? The lie was that she listed herself as the broker, she is not. She is only a realtor. And the license number she listed belonged to a former broker that she had not worked for in over four years. she told me for six months that she was the only property manager and I could not speak with anyone else regarding the property. When I spoke with the ombudsman she informed me that the broker could assign a new manager to me. That it was the broker, not actually the realtor, that was my manager. When I questioned this is when it all got crazy. And I still don't understand who was actually the responsible party. I spoke to the owner for the first time when the broker sent us all an email stating that the lease was between owner and tenant and that the realtor no longer worked for his company. In my lease it has a box to check whether or not the owners realtor will act as property manager. This box was checked with yes. Then it listed the realtors name and wrong license number. I would love it if anyone could help me figure out what this type of lease would be called so I can research it. Thank you for your comments. I honestly can see why it looks like I just didn't pay my rent and expected no consequences. I honored my agreement by moving out by the specified date and I left the house spotless.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    If a lease lists a property manager as the owner's agent, to whom rent is to be paid, it's because the landlord has designated the property manager as his agent, to whom rent is to be paid.

    I'm not sure how many times you need to be told that your grousing about the realtor and whether or not she committed some sort of license violation by also serving as property manager is irrelevant to either the validity of your lease or how much rent you go, but to emphasize:

    It's not relevant.

    It's not relevant.

    It's not relevant.

    It's not relevant.

    Do you need it repeated a few more times, or is it sinking in?

    I still can't see your agreement with your landlord about surrendering the premises and being released from the lease; again, if you're not able to resolve the matter without litigation, you should take a copy to court and attempt to prove that you complied with the agreement.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    Quote Quoting swirly6
    View Post
    . And I still don't understand who was actually the responsible party. I spoke to the owner for the first time when the broker sent us all an email stating that the lease was between owner and tenant and that the realtor no longer worked for his company. In my lease it has a box to check whether or not the owners realtor will act as property manager. This box was checked with yes. Then it listed the realtors name and wrong license number. I would love it if anyone could help me figure out what this type of lease would be called so I can research it. Thank you for your comments. I honestly can see why it looks like I just didn't pay my rent and expected no consequences. I honored my agreement by moving out by the specified date and I left the house spotless.
    whether the Realtor was acting within the laws concerning her ability to act as the owners agent or not is between the agent, the state of Texas, the agents broker, and possibly the owner of the home. It does not affect anything concerning you one bit.

    The contract stated who you pay rent to. Now, the only argument you have to not pay rent to that party is the contract is void for some reason. If you were assured by the owner the contract was valid, then you pay money to whomever it says to pay it to.....PERIOD.


    If you refuse payment as the lease requires, you get evicted

    If the owner had subsequently given you notification the agent would no longer be receiving the rent, then your payment to the owner along with the receipt you did pay will be proof of payment.

    If you paid the agent still, a reasonable argument would be that the lease states to pay the agent and you have not received any written authorization to pay any other. Again, yuor receipt will prove you made a good will effort to pay rent due. You would not be evicted in either case.



    so, either you paid the rent owed or you didn't, to somebody. Did you?

    as you were told; if you have proof of the agreement to release you from the lease, take that to court with you. The terms of that agreement will determine if the suit against you is valid or not.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    At this point I'm simply asking what the differences in leases are. I paid the owner, not the property manager. That was my concern when I learned about the brokerage issue. Should I have been paying the broker? But absolutely nobody can explain this to me. So she was acting as property manager without receiving money? The realtor was crazy. But I can't even begin to explain that one here if I cannot properly explain what information I would like to know. During the 2 day period where all of this happened the owner and realtor both threatened to go to my children's school. Tell the community and the HOA that I refused to pay my rent. Which I never did. All I said was I will pay it tomorrow after I speak with the broker and get some clarity. He never gave me that chance. He fired the realtor and her friend, the home owner, then asked me to leave. IMO, which I cannot prove one tiny bit, it was because her friend was fired due to my complaint. At this time she said she would not accept any rent payment and we agreed I would move out and she would return my deposit, minus the days I lived there this month, within 72 hours. I left a family members address as I did not feel safe with either of them knowing my new one. Nothing has shown up, she filed an eviction suit against me, and is suing me for $400 more than my monthly rent. I did receive notice today from TREC that they found enough cause to open an investigation into the realtor and broker. I only filed on the realtor. I'm only assuming the broker is being investigated because he is essentially responsible for her actions. So my original question was if I could try and recover moving expenses along with deposit since I moved due to her harassment and misconduct. That is what caused the entire situation. I'm not looking to make money off of her. Or sue for crazy accusations. I have detailed emails and even a video of her threatening my reputation. Harassing me. And being unethical in ways that break the realtor code of ethics. This went on for 6 months. It only turned really bad when I stood up to the situation and asked questions.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    Let's try this again....

    Your complaints about the realtor are irrelevant.

    You owe your rent to your landlord.

    No, your complaints that the property manager was a meany-pants will not allow you to escape your lease. No, it's not a basis to sue her, nor would there be any point in doing so if you're "not looking to make money off of her. Or sue for crazy accusations".

    Fortunately for you, you have told us that you have a release agreement that you entered with your landlord, and upon submitting proof of that agreement and your full compliance to the court, the court should find that you were released by that agreement.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Can You Take Action Against a Realtor Who Acts as a Property Manager

    It was way more than being a "meanie-pants". But I cannot possibly explain the extent of her harassment for six months without a long play by play. They are far from irrelevant.

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