In Houston our Association requires that all owners of a home sign a listing agreement before it can be advertised on the MLS. This means that in almost all cases you can't just have the husbands signature to list a home and not the wife's. There have been many times where one person believes the other should be excluded during the home selling process.
Here are some past examples where confusion can occur:
1. The husband's culture prevents the wife from partaking in any business matters, including selling the home.
2. One spouse isn't on the loan.
3. Divorce.
4. Estate Sales.
If you purchased a home after you were married in Texas then both husband and spouse own the home and both would have to sign a listing agreement in order for it to be on the MLS. It's also likely that both have signed the Deed of Trust at closing. If the loan is JUST in the wife's name then it still applies. The Husband has Homestead rights and vice versa. If you're going through a divorce that isn't amicable and you aren't communicating then you'll likely need to do so through an attorney and use JUST ONE Realtor to list your home. You can't have both parties signing listing agreements with two different agents. In many cases, the attorney and or judge will make this known before you go haywire trying to buck or beat the game.
The Executor of an estate has to sign the listing agreement, not all 4 family members of the deceased. And if it's a female, she's known as the Executrix, not Executor.
If you have lived in a home in Texas for more than 30 days then you are usually recognized as a resident. This is why you get your taxes rebated from extended stay hotels after 30 days. If you're a girlfriend living with a man and have occupied the home for more than 30 days then you may have what's referred to as "interior homestead rights." And it might be a good idea to get a drivers license with the homes address if you want to validate your presence!
Each Realtor Association has it's own set of rules that can vary and not every state has Homestead rights.
Comments (35)Subscribe to CommentsComment