View Full Version : Any real estate lawyers here?
I have some questions in regards to a rental house I have. I'm sort of at odds with the property manager and was curious as to what my options are on some things.
Thanks!
Chad4000
04-16-2013, 15:05
Not a lawyer, but work very close to them.. I am in property management so I might be able to help?
Me and the fiance bought a house back in September through her family's long time realtor. We decided that we'd just rent my current house out and move. He said the rental market is great and it wouldn't be a problem. He's also a property manager so he'd handle everything. He'd pre-qualify the tenants, credit check them, take all phone calls, etc. Basically take all the stress out of it. Sweet!
Well, he got some tenants to move in in October. Male, female + 2 kids. The man and woman were "Friends" that were helping each other out. Well I kept getting calls from old neighbors complaining about them amongst other things. After 2 months, the male moved out and wrote an email basically to us stating A LOT of stuff. More people were living there than was identified, drugs in the house, etc. Lots of stuff. We were never able to catch them on it and once the male moved out, they eventually couldnt pay and we evicted them. I had to find someone to serve them, had to go to court, etc.
Once we finally got them out, the fiance and I went over, cleaned the trash out of the house that was left, deep cleaned the house, etc. Lots of work. Not to mention, I had to flip the bill for the unpaid water tab. The PM said he wasnt going to charge me the finders fee (50% of the first months rent) again because he felt bad for all of this. Cool, I guess.
We tried to sell the house so I didn't have to deal with tenants but after a month and not getting offers I needed, we opted to go the rental route again. He did some showings and so did I. Some clients at my regular job came in one day and asked about the house since they live up the road from it. Her son and wife were looking for a house and were interested. After I showed them the home, they wanted it. The PM had someone else interested but it wasn't the highest quality person and I felt better letting a young family move into the neighborhood. So we opted for my tenants, not his. Well I got my accounting statement for the month and he charged me the finders fee. I called him and he said "Well, things changed because we tried selling it, then back to renting it and I still had to come down for showings and other things. Approximately 5-6 times." I was getting a little heated by this point. In my business, if I say something, I abide by it for reputation purposes. He said he'd work with me and only charge 25% though. :rolleyes: I said I had to think about it.
I wrote out a long email describing everything. How we ALL had extra work because of the tenants HE found and qualified. I also questioned what the point of a PM is when I was still dealing with phone calls and home welfare checks. I haven't gotten a response and no call back yet and this was 5 days ago. I checked the contract and it does say he can collect the finders fee for every new tenant that moves in. I think legally, I'm out of the money if he doesn't want to honor his word. However, I also noticed that in the contract, I gave him authorization to drop the rent down to a certain amount. The current lease is for much less than what I authorized in the contract. Can I go after him for the difference in rent for the 12 month lease? Do I have any recourse against him for costs I incurred because of HIS tenants he found?
Thanks!
I highly doubt you can go after him for what the tenants did or didn't do to your home. You can try it but I suspect you will be told by a judge to go after the tenants.
As for your fees to him...you owe him. He found you a tenant and you chose not to accept that tenant. He did the work. He gets paid. Colorado real estate law. He has the *option* to not charge you but there is nothing that requires him to let you off the hook.
I highly doubt you can go after him for what the tenants did or didn't do to your home. You can try it but I suspect you will be told by a judge to go after the tenants.
As for your fees to him...you owe him. He found you a tenant and you chose not to accept that tenant. He did the work. He gets paid. Colorado real estate law. He has the *option* to not charge you but there is nothing that requires him to let you off the hook.
I assumed there was nothing to go on for the tenant stuff. It was a shot in the dark. I also understand that legally, he owes me nothing back for the cost of new tenants. It's purely a reputation investment for him at this point.
I was more curious as to the difference in rent. What the current lease if for versus what I gave him written authorization to drop it down to? Since we're going strictly on what's legal and in writing at this point.
Is this your only rental? If you really want to get out of the house PM me Address and details about what you are looking to get out of it. If we can strike a deal, great. If not, no worries. I am trying to buy a few more rentals and am having a hard time finding deals to meet my goal of buying 2 homes a month so just let me know.
I represented a Holiday Inn last night.
Did you sign something making him your agent? If not you can sue him.
You can also file a complaint against him with the real estate board
I have a good property manager (licensed) I use who lives right in castle rock if you want his info.
I was more curious as to the difference in rent. What the current lease if for versus what I gave him written authorization to drop it down to? Since we're going strictly on what's legal and in writing at this point.
As I understand...you found the current renters. Yet you are upset with him for what your renters are paying? Why would he be responsible for what they are paying? Even if it isn't on paper you okd the price.
Did you sign something making him your agent?
They had to have signed on with him otherwise they wouldn't have documents stating that he gets paid for each person who moves in.
As I understand...you found the current renters. Yet you are upset with him for what your renters are paying? Why would he be responsible for what they are paying? Even if it isn't on paper you okd the price.
I'm just upset that he's going back on his word. That's all. Since we're playing the "only what's on paper counts" game, I figured I'd join in. It does say in the contract that no verbal agreements are to be honored. EVERYTHING has to be in writing.
Not to mention, the fact that he's been ignoring my calls/emails since this came up. He never gave me a heads up that he decided to change his mind and just tried to slip it in there. So I'm just a little tired of the games at this point. I understand that legally, he did nothing wrong. But he's made a cool 10k off me in the past 6 months and $500 is a drop in the bucket to keep our relationship in good standing, IMO.
Well, I received word today that he's making it right. Good to hear. Thanks for the input fellas.
The time to terminate him was after the tenant moved out and before he shopped for a new tenant.
The time to terminate him was after the tenant moved out and before he shopped for a new tenant.
BINGO!
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.