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if You Do Not Know What You Are Doing, Don't Do It.

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408

My client wants to privately rent his friend's unit in a condo-hotel to a lady in a wheel chair. Fine, but she has two small dogs, and the resort has “no pets” policy. So, the Front Desk said “no”.

The lady stayed in this resort last year, and there was a problem with her, and she was told to stay away.

I am not involved in the whole thing, but my client is asking my advice, and I suggested he stays out of trouble. He said “sure” and kept digging deeper…

Next day he told me that the lady’s dogs are service dogs. The lady claims that the dogs are service dogs, but can’t produce any documentation. She has some paper from the trainer, but this is not a service dog. And the paper is from 2002… Those dogs may be in heaven now...

Again, I told him not to get into trouble. He again said “Of course” and kept digging deeper into hole.

Then the lady showed up and had an argument at the Front Desk. The Association President was right there, along with other Board Members, as they had the monthly meeting just before it… Unanimous answer was “No”. The lady called the Police. The officer came, he was clueless, so he called his supervisor.

His supervisor was clueless, too, so he went to someone else to get the advice. In their infinite wisdom the Police came with the answer, that unless the Association can disprove that these are not service dogs, they couldn’t kick the lady out.

My client understands it as if he now can rent to her with no problem. The funny part is that he does not understand that his problems are just starting. And when I say that, he is looking at me in disbelief. Police said this, so how come this can bite him?

Well, the simplest thing is that after he lets her rent the unit the Association will send him a note that according to the rules, pets are not allowed, and that he has to make sure there are no pets in the unit or he will be fined $100 a day until he pays $1,000. This is in the Rules & Regulations.

At this moment it will become his problem to provide the proof that these are service dogs, which are not, so he would face a trouble of evicting a handicap person, who would calls police and would not let him do it, so he will have to go through the eviction process, which is not going to be easy for him.

Evicting is not an amicable procedure and evicting a handicap woman may not even be feasible at all. The judge could easily say that my client rented while being warned that the dogs are not service dogs, so he can’t evict, and if the association charges him, so be it.

My client does not like it.

He comes next day and says that he called her and said he does not want to rent to her, but she said she would sue him. He looks scared.

Why is she threatening to sue him? Turned out he signed a lease. She has a signed lease.

I am speechless. Here is something my client is missing completely. The unit in question belongs to his friend, he is not the owner. I am telling him that he might have a serious problem, bigger than what he thinks he has.

If she sues him, her attorney will quickly figure out that he actually is not the owner, nor a real estate licensee. Signing a residential lease for another person makes him practicing real estate without a license, and in Florida it is a felony in the 3rd degree, and carries up to 1 year in jail and/or a substantial fine.

He asked me what to do, and I told him that he may start thinking about a good attorney…

And from having no involvement, I ended up with resolving the issue.

And my client did one smart thing in this mess: he is across the Canadian border now and will stay for some time.

I think if you do not know what you are doing, don't do it. Period.

Comments (12)

Monica Hess
Feng Shui This - Murray, KY
Kentucky's Feng Shui Master

Oh my gosh...this is just one screw-up after another.  I think it's a great idea for him to head for Canada.  

Feb 19, 2012 11:44 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Ha-ha... I told him that he either gets a good attorney, or gets lost and as far as he could. First time he listened

Feb 19, 2012 11:48 AM
Brian Schulte
Allison James Estates & Homes - Sierra Vista, AZ
SFR, Sierra Vista, AZ

Now that is a BIG HOLE he dug for himself.  Now he must dig all the way to China.

Truthe is always more interesting.

 

Feb 19, 2012 12:05 PM
Eric Kodner
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Eric Kodner Sells Twin Cities Homes - Minnetonka, MN
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Twin Cities, Madeline Island

Jon, you have a wonderful way of getting to the heart of the matter in your posts!

Feb 19, 2012 12:34 PM
Andrea Bedard
Thompson Company, REALTORS® 240.593.2860 - Silver Spring, MD
Fluent in Real Estate & German, M.A. ABR ASP CIPS

Oh my Jon, what was he thinking? Wait, that was half his problem .. he wasn't thinking! The other half was not listening to you! That's some big trouble to be in. Where's the owner in all of this?

Feb 19, 2012 12:37 PM
Nancy Laswick
United Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
Your REALTOR® For The Valley Of The Sun

Jon, wow your client should leave the real estate matters to you and spend his time on things he understands.

Feb 19, 2012 12:37 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Brian - I hope Canada will suffice (LOL)

Feb 20, 2012 03:48 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Eric - life's lessons are sometimes very entertaining

;-)

Feb 20, 2012 03:50 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Andrea - I guess you are right, There was some problem with thinking

 

Feb 20, 2012 03:51 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Nancy - at least he should have put himself in jeopardy while trying to help a friend and not being even compensated.

His good could have been tought on him

Feb 20, 2012 03:52 AM
Jill Sackler
Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc. 516-575-7500 - Long Beach, NY
LI South Shore Real Estate - Broker Associate

Jon, you always find yourself in the midst of the craziest (and most entertaining) stories I've ever heard. Make sure you hang on to them and someday you can put out a book of true real estate escapades.

Feb 21, 2012 09:21 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Jill - escapades is an excellent word here. But now I am thinking whethere I "attract" more than my fair share of escapades? (LOL)

Funny, but it took me 1 minute to resolve the issue.

i went to the Front Desk with this poor guy and asked the manager whether he knew that this guy was not an owner. He said that now he knew it.

Then I asked him whether he had any written authorization to allow this guy to rent the unit on the owner's behalf, and the manager said "No".

then I asked the manager what he would have to do if someone comes with the lease and demand the key? He hesitated, but we progressed to the right answer, that Front Desk can't issue the keys without a written authorization from the owner.

And then iI told the manager to go and cancel the electronic key that my clients had from this unit, so that he can't even think of entering it until he himself has proper authorization.

That was it.

 

Feb 21, 2012 10:56 PM