Texas Real Estate Legal Questions

Your statement raises the question of why your husband conveyed his (and your) home to his mother rather than to you when he went overseas???  Was there marital discord at the time? Your statement suggests that you and your husband are still together but that his mother refuses to convey the house back.  Does she think she is being protective to her son for some infirmity that he has, or is she being greedy and unreasonable?  If your husband's mother refuses to re-convey the house, then I see no alternative but to file an action in court to try and get the deed to her declared void.  Whether that can reasonably be done will depend upon your state's laws with respect to such a situation.  My guess is that she paid no consideration when she received the deed.  If that be true, there is at least some chance a court would declare the deed void. Perhaps the hard part is your husband making peace with the idea of having to file suit against his mother.  (He would not, of course, be seeking monetary damages but he would no doubt do serious damage to any relationship that he might have with her.)    ... Read More

Read your lease carefully.  If there is no language in the lease that allows the owner/realtor access under any circumstances at all, the lease provisions will govern.  If there is no such language in your lease, stand your ground.  I don't believe there is any state that would, by law, allow someone else access to your home whether rented or owned.  If there is not such language in your lease, inform the owner/realtor that you will regard any entry into your home (without your consent and presence) to be a criminal trespass, and that any property that might go missing during such unauthorized entry will be treated as a theft by them.  Should you continue to feel pressure on this point, consult a good real estate attorney for advice.  ... Read More

As a general rule, a landlord can condition its rental on almost anything that it chooses - but there are several taboo areas that are excepted, such as discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, etc.  If there is nothing in the lease to prohibit the purpose of the meeting that you propose (or the size of the meeting that you have said), it may well be that you would prevail in a court test of the question. There is another consideration though.  Some municipalities have zoning or similar restrictions on using private residences for purposes other than a private residence.  In such situations, any group meeting of any size and for any purpose might well be prohibited.  Confer with a good real estate attorney to get the specifics.   ... Read More

It sounds as if your lender is asking that you put the other two tracts up for additional collateral as a condition to refinancing your home.  In other words, in the event of a default, the lender could foreclose on those properties too, if that was required to generate enough money to pay their debt.  Your lender is asking for an opinion letter from an attorney, or a title insurance policy that includes all the properties.  A real estate attorney will examine the background title and either provide an opinion letter to the lender (if the lender will be satisfied with that), or he will provide the bank with a title insurance commitment.  A title insurance commitment is a guaranty that a title insurance policy will be written to the bank after the bank's mortgage or deed of trust is recorded.  An examination of the title requires researching the public records for a period of 40 to maybe 60 years, reviewing all deeds, easements, etc that affect the property and determining whether there are any liens or other encumbrances against the property.  Each such document must be located and reviewed.  Before hiring an attorney to do that work, you should find out precisely what the lender wants and then ask your attorney to communicate with the lender if there is any doubt about it. Unless the lender plans to close the transaction itself, a lawyer will probably be asked to close the loan.  It may be that you will be given the opportunity to select the closing attorney.  You should ask your lender if you can do that.  If so, then you can ask your closing attorney to examine the title.   In some areas, attorneys do not examine titles and write title insurance policies.  Instead, title insurance companies do that work directly.  If that is the case in your community, there may still be a closing attorney involved in the closing.  In that event, he/she can see to the ordering of appropriate title work. ... Read More