Question (FL): I live in Florida. I am divorced but my ex is still on the mortgage and deed. He owes his attorney money. His attorney has put in a Motion for Withdrawal of Attorney Representation due to non-payment. The Motion states, "The retainer agreement provides for a charging lien to be established upon all of Mr. _____'s right, title and interest in any and all real and personal property within the jurisdiction of this Court."

Does this mean my house (where I live and pay the mortgage on my own) will now have a lien on it because of his non-payment to his attorney? Will this mean I won't have clear title on my house when I go to sell it? I'm really worried about this statement.

Answer: Call the State Bar of Florida at (850) 561-5600 to find the Florida Rules on liens for attorney fees. Alternatively, you could hire your own attorney to provide a legal opinion regarding your situation and answers to the two questions you have asked us.

Question (GA): I obtained my real estate license approximately two years ago. While I have been active in the real estate field, I have not actually used my license and it has now expired. I have been working with land developers mainly in the acquisition of land to be developed into subdivisions. The company that I was most recently working for had some money issues and had to stop doing business.

My question is this: I am interested in getting involved with commercial real estate leasing and I am having a problem getting my foot in the door anywhere due to "lack of experience." I am 25 years old and very eager to get going. How can I get some experience to get my foot in the door and get my career started?

Answer: The first thing is to re-activate your Georgia real estate license. In that regard, we suggest that you select a firm that handles both residential and commercial real estate. Any firm, whether Commercial, Residential, or both Commercial and Residential, wants real estate agents who are knowledgeable about the markets, responsive to the clients they serve, loyal to the companies by which they are employed, who are aware of and compliant to the Georgia and Federal Statutes applicable to real estate, and who will be a productive real estate agent (i.e. who brings in enough revenue to pay the agent's portion of the commission or fee plus enough "company dollar" or "adjusted gross income" to pay the portion allocated to overhead plus an adequate return on capital invested to justify operating the real estate firm).

When a person in charge of recruiting tells you that you "lack experience," what he or she is really saying is that you haven't demonstrated to him or her that you are knowledgeable about the markets and that you possess the "people skills" that make you worth the risks involved in hiring you. That person is also telling you something else and here is where you get the chance to demonstrate your responsiveness to people by stating, "Fair enough. Do you have a training department that can offer me the elements your firm deems necessary to hire me?" If the firm does not have a training department, perhaps they have a broker or broker associate or a real estate salesperson who is extremely productive yet who really needs a licensed assistant. Perhaps you have uncovered a need that the firm has for a training department.

In other words, regardless of what the person with whom you are interviewing says, you take his or her statement as a "buying" signal to hiring you. Then it is a question of delivering to that firm what the firm wants at a price and upon terms the firm is willing and able to pay. It is the same formula you would use for a consumer of real estate services: "Deliver what the consumer wants and/or needs, at a price and upon terms the consumer is willing and able to pay." Communicate with the firm's interviewer to listen to and then restate in your own words to demonstrate your understanding, and then come up with one of two things:

1. a solution to the "problem" the interviewer has stated; or,

2. a statement that you would like a chance to research the answer to the problem he or she has brought up and then get back with him or her with your answer. In other words, a request for another appointment at the interviewer's convenience.

In the meantime, be more specific about what area of commercial real estate leasing you are interested in. Is it office space leasing in an office building, or retail space leasing in a mall, a regional, or strip shopping center? Is it leasing industrial space in which you are interested? There are more areas involved in leasing commercial space and you should be specific about which area. Each of those areas mentioned have specialized language and terms and you need to know what they are.

Finally, you need to demonstrate that you have the financial staying power to survive the time it will take you until you begin generating revenue for your sponsoring broker.

Question (MS): Who is liable, the mortgage broker or the lender, if a loan fails to close in a timely manner?

Answer: We are going to assume the borrower selected the mortgage broker and that what you mean by "timely manner" is related to a real estate contract. Neither the mortgage broker nor the lender is a party to the contract, so neither has a duty to comply with the terms of it.

Additionally, neither the mortgage broker nor the lender has a duty to the borrower to close a loan on or before a specific date unless one or the other guaranteed closing on or before a specific date. They do, however, have a duty to make sure that the loan application and all the documentation in support of it are accurate and contain no misrepresentations or concealment of material facts. Additionally, if a request for additional information was made of the borrower and the borrower did not supply it in time for the mortgage broker or the lender to process and/or verify it, that would most likely provide an out for the mortgage broker's or the lender's guarantee – if either one had provided such a guarantee, to close in a "timely manner."

Question (NY): I had a home loan with a lender. The loan went into default. A Chapter 13 was filed, pro-se. The lender sold this property, even with the Chapter 13 stating that the Bankruptcy proceeding had been filed, 1 minute past the supposed start time of the auction, which by the Sheriff's own admission hadn't started yet. The lender stated that they did not have to obey the Federal ruling, because of the 1 minute. Is this true?

Answer: The bankruptcy court has the authority to set the sale aside, but you had to have filed a timely motion to do so with the court. If it was after the trustee's sale, even by just one minute, you could have a problem. We can't overstate how important it is to get a quality bankruptcy lawyer. You will probably save a lot of money and time in the long run. This is the problem when one represents one's self: a little slip in the rules can make a lot of difference. We'd suggest you buy 30 minutes of a successful bankruptcy attorney's time, and ask your question to him or her. Have dates and times of the lender's notices you received, the lender's other communications with you, the lender's filings, and any bankruptcy court communications.

Published: August 14, 2007

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George Stephens, CRB is the Broker of ERA Stephens Properties. He is licensed as a mortgage broker in Texas, and a real estate broker in Texas, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Charles J. Jacobus, JD is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Residential and Commercial Real Estate Law, and the author of Texas Real Estate Law, and Texas Real Estate, both published by Thomson Publishing. He also teaches at Champions School of Real Estate, Houston Community College, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center. To send us a question visit AskGeorge.net and click the "Ask A Question" button. The answers to questions in this column do not contain legal advice. George and Chuck are co-authors of Texas Real Estate Brokerage and Law of Agency, published by Thomson Publishing. If you wish to obtain legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.