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No, an attorney cannot join the MLS and list properties unless they are also a licensed real estate agent. In most of Texas (I'm not sure of all areas, but there probably aren't any), you cannot join the MLS without being a REALTOR®. The only other people who are allowed access to the MLS are appraisers and inspectors so they have access to our Supra lockboxes for entry into the properties.
I agree with this, Attorney's who are not also real estate agents can not be members of the MLS, Houston requires members to the NAR as well. I don't know of any MLS that a non-agent can subscribe to....except for a few limited exceptions.
I know one exception is that the attorneys who fight property taxes can get non-agent subscriptions to the Houston MLS data, but it does not allow you to list & negotiate like an agent, just query the data for property tax appraisals and litigation.
When I bought my house, I insisted that the agent write a few extra things into the house. He thought I was being a little silly, because they were things that obviously should convey. However, I found the seller removed some things that were bolted down and damaged the wall in the process. It turns out, I should have added more things explicitly. The fact that things that are bolted down should be left is not always understood. Therefore, it is wise to be redundant in your contract so there can be no excuses.
As far as legal recourse, I'm clueless. The solution for all readers that will be engaging in future transactions is to write into the contract something along the lines of all "All cabinets and features will convey, and no exceptions shall be permitted."
I'm just curious. I know the OP has been here since starting the thread, but I'd like to know what she decided to do.
Well Jack, it's your lucky day, because I finally have an update.
Per suggestions on this thread (big shout out to the Texas real estate professionals and attorneys who posted), we sent a demand letter to the previous owner. We had to send it certified mail to our own address (thank you to whoever suggested that!) and then it was forwarded to him. This letter was very polite, and I even stated that I now understood that errors were made by both of our realtors, and that neither he nor we should suffer financially for their error. I went on to say that, however, our only recourse for restitution is to be reimbursed by him directly (since he is the one with whom we had a contract), and that he could then seek restitution from his agent (via her Errors and Omissions insurance). I concluded with a firm date for reimbursement, after which we would take legal action (we would most likely have pursued the matter in small claims court).
Sooooo........
Yesterday I got a FedEx package, which contained a cashier's check for the amount requested. It also contained the nastiest, most hateful piece of correspondence I have ever had the displeasure to read. It was beyond rude; it was maniacal and frightening (no threats, but the venomous insults were disturbing and not indicative of stable mental health). I'm guessing this person has little previous experience with real estate, because his comments were completely illogical, raising numerous complaints about various aspects of our contract that HE SIGNED. If he really felt we ripped him off so horribly (with our offer of 99% of his asking price!), then why did he ever accept it??
To everyone in this thread who didn't understand why we were bothering with this:
All we wanted was for our legally binding contract to be carried out, in full. Yes, a couple thousand dollars for cabinets is small in the grand scheme of things, but ya know, if I'm basically gonna hand someone a couple thousand dollars (which is what ignoring this problem would be akin to), I can find better charities to hand that money to.
The solution for all readers that will be engaging in future transactions is to write into the contract something along the lines of all "All cabinets and features will convey, and no exceptions shall be permitted."
Very similar verbiage was, in fact, a part of the standard form in our transaction. There was a place to write in exclusions, which was left blank in our case.
I'm so happy Kay, and glad you didn't just sit back and do nothing. Its the principle, not always about the $$$. My renters took my porch swing, and it still burns my butt. So your sellers feel you cheated them on the sell price? lmbo A lot of posters had sympathy for them, I never did as I felt they knew they were stealing. Your update proved they're a-holes.
Good for you. Sometimes moral victories are the best kind. This is even better since you still got your money!
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So your sellers feel you cheated them on the sell price? lmbo A lot of posters had sympathy for them, I never did as I felt they knew they were stealing. Your update proved they're a-holes.
