Hi, new to this forum, and have a question to the realtors out there. My family has been trying to sell an estate in Texas, most of us live halfway across the country. The realtor has thus far been great. We recently visited the property and resolved some items and were making plans for additional trips. I received a call from the neighbor that some landscaping had been removed. My investigation discovered that the realtor had given the local handyman permission to take it. (thousands of dollars worth). The realtor's excuse was that she thought we were already 'done' getting everything we wanted from the property. I am making a special trip to secure our property, and she is saying that she did nothing wrong, it was just a misunderstanding. I am personally outraged and feel we should take legal action, others of my family are advocating to just 'go with the flow' and keep her on in the interest of not complicating things as well as the fear of retaliation in a small town community. What do the professionals on this forum think? Have you experienced things like this in your career?

Thanks,

JM

I don't see what justification she could have had to do that. So if you were finished getting everything you needed, does that entitle her to take anything she wanted, specially if they were fixtures? If you don't mind saying, what kind of landscaping was it?

I know the laws are different in Texas, but I believe theft is theft in every state.
What if there was a $10000 crystal chandelier in the foyer that your family didn't want, would it be okay for your agent to take it?

I have to agree with what was said here. I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, however, I DO know about the 'good ol' boy' networks that small, rural towns hold near and dear. That being said, I am also a noisemaker when things aren't right and this just isn't right.

Lora

I agree that this is theft, not innocent at all. I would contact this agent's broker to discuss the situation. Whatever was taken should be returned or replaced.

Locally, both unethical and unlawful

Locally we operate pursuant to the laws of agency and in this instance, the brokerage firm is responsible for the action and/or inaction of their employees and/or independent contractors.

Further, the unlawful removal of anything from the property without the express consent of the lawful owner is not only illegal, but is in violation of the agent's fiduciary duty to their client and barring a satisfactory monetary settlement, would entitle the client to take the appropriate legal action against the brokerage firm together with the agent in question, for damages.

The breach of fiduciary duty by an agent would also entitle the client to terminate the services of the brokerage firm, and still file a civil suit for damages.

In the event of a intervening sale of the subject property, the same issues may entitle the client to withhold the payment of the agent's commission pending the settlement of the clients claim for damages with respect the landscaping issue and a breach of the agent's fiduciary duty.

In any event, the issues will be subject the prevailing laws in the jurisdiction of the subject property and you would be well advised to explore your legal options with an attorney who practices in the relevant jurisdiction.

Important Notice: This information is provided as basic educational information by the author and is not a substitute for the advice of an expert and/or the advice of a lawyer. There is NO representation as to legality, accuracy, correctness of the herein information and the reader is strongly urged to consult a lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction to ensure accuracy before acting on this information .

My thought is based on what you said, is you were robbed. It makes it worse when your agent authorized the robbery.

In my area, thats not an uncommen thing (except agents don't do it). LAst spring a guy down the street had his brick sidewalk stolen while he was on vacation? I remembered seeing the workers there, but paid no attention, did not even know he was on vacation.

I think you need a different Agent; but I would first talk to her Supervising Broker and make sure that he/she knows about the liberties that were taken with your Family's possessions.

I always get permission before even harvesting some Apples or Asparagus from the vacant properties we have For Sale. Seldom are we ever told "No", and that has only been IF it's already promised to someone else.

Plantings are part of the property, and represent what is being offered. Even the Sellers have to reserve the right to remove anything that is "attached", and having roots in the ground constitutes being attached. I know Buyers will get upset if anything that they saw is removed without their knowledge.

Now, if it's good Asparagus or the Apples make good Cider or Pies, we then add it to our Advertising, so the Owners can see that their contribution went to wards furthering the Sale.

Well, JM, I am flummoxed on so many levels at your situation! What your REALTOR did was a breach of fiduciary duties, illegal, unethical and just downright low. Depending on the nature and maturity of the landscaping that she authorized the removal of, she likely (at least temporarily) irreparably damaged the value and appeal of the estate. And on a human level, she has at least caused a little distress given the emotions that can be involved in an estate. You expect the home to be changed when it is sold. You don't expect your REALTOR to dismantle it before your eyes!

While I cannot legally tell you that you should terminate your agency with that indiviual, I can tell you that I would not continue it if it were my decision to make.

TREC can help you file a complaint against the agent, and you might be fortunate enough to recover funds from that agent or from the state's Recovery Fund. If you want to PM me your information, I can point you in the right direction at TREC.

I'm *really* sorry that happened to you. When a REALTOR accepts a non-resident owner's listing, they really owe them the highest level of care given that they are expected to be the eyes and ears of that owner. It's really sad to see an agent take advantage of that situation. Good luck!

In my last brokerage there was a similar situation where an out of state owner had furniture in her home. According to the owner she authorized that the furniture be moved to the garage and stored there to enhance the presentation of the home and was agreeable to have the furnishings sold with the home if the buyer desired. The listing Realtor who coincidentaly owned a moving company; had the most of the property removed from the home and "donated".
For the closing the owner surprisingly came to town and noted
the missing furniture. Only a few items remained and the contract called for furnishings to be included.
The owner refused to close stating the listing R robbed her of the potential additional thousands of $ in potential sale by removing and "donating" the furnishings.
End of story was the BROKER stated the realtor violated ethics of the brokerage by removing the furniture without written consent and his E & O etc would not provide coverage and he would not support her at an administrative hearing by the board.
(the realtor stated she had verbal approval from the seller to remove the stuff and that there was a miscommunication)
Listing realtor compensated the buyer for some mutually agree upon $ figure after arbitration and she got kicked out of the brokerage.
Your realtor deserves the same fate.

Well you know about what they say when you ASSUME things ! You make an as$ out of you and me !

Since there is an estate here many parties are in play. Generally when someone dies and an estate is left you have many emotions.Some want to hold onto it for the memories,others want to forget the pain and move on and yet others just want the money as soon as possible.

Are you by chance the executor of the estate ? Many estates want to be settled fast because of the taxes involved maintaining an estate. Ethics and the law are 2 seperate items in most states. First you would need to know if they were a REALTOR or they have a state license. If they are not a REALTOR than ethics do not come into play.

What you are saying is more like stealing or an accomplice to theft by taking. It will be very hard to prove if you were not there who stole the plants unless the agent is dumb enough to admit it.Most likley a cash reimbursement at closing by the broker or a reduction of commission by the listing broker would possibly make up for the loss.

I can't believe agents would do this. I don't do anything for sellers that would put me into that type of situation period.I always say that is outside the scope of my professional activities. Some brokers/agents will overstep boundaries to make a dollar and that's when they get in serious trouble.

Run by an attorney for options.

no legal advice

Thank you so far for the responses, it has given me a lot to consider.As far as value, this is more in the $10,000 chandelier category than the apples and asparagus category.