Question (CA): My husband and I own a rental property in Texas. We want to sell our home in Texas but the renter who lives in the property is refusing to let us show the property. Can a renter stop us from selling the home and showing the home while the renter is still living in the property?

Answer: Were you represented by a real estate agent when the Tenant signed the lease? Do you have a written copy of the Lease Agreement the Tenant signed?

The answer to your question lies with the "four corners" of the written rental agreement signed by the Tenant and you or your authorized agent. The rental agreement used by the Texas Association of Realtors® provides for "reasonable access" but may also require some notice to the Tenant, depending upon the Special Provisions area.

Question (CA): I read your posts on Realty Times and I have been enjoying them for quite some time. I am a mortgage broker and have taught two real estate seminars for 5 years here in Southern California. I enjoy it and it is a great way to get clients.

I have a book coming out from McGraw Hill entitled "Real Estate Debt Can Make You Rich" by Steve Dexter. This July release is causing a bit of a stir and I have been invited to do my own radio show, tentatively called "The Home and Wealth Network."

I figured since you have been in this real estate writing business longer than I have you may know of somebody who has done this before. Anybody you know that I might talk to?

Answer: Contact Shad Bogany at www.erabogany.com. Shad has had a radio show for more than 10 years called "The Real Estate Corner" at KCOH Radio. He has combined a sterling real estate career for more than 15 years with his radio show. Shad was also the 2002 Chairman of the Houston Association of REALTORS®.

Question (IL): Hi guys! My question is this: have either of you heard of Action Commercial Capital and if so, what is the industry sentiment on this company (good or bad)?

Answer: We have heard nothing -- either good or bad, concerning the firm about which you inquired. Naturally, we could not speak for the "industry" as to its "sentiment" even if we had heard anything.

However, some basic research turned up the URL of actioncommercialcapital.com , and a Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida report on the company which gives minimal information.

However, as with any firm you may be interested in doing business with, whether it is commercial lending or not, and about which you have very little information, it is a good idea to first perform a thorough inquiry. Contact the firm and ask for a customer list so you can contact previous customers to obtain their recommendations. Any firm that is truly serious about providing a service to you as a consumer, will be glad to submit the names and contact information of previous customers. If the company is not willing to do that, then we recommend you think again about whether or not you should do business with it.

Question (OH): I put a purchase bid on a home in Ohio. The next day the sellers accepted. The day after their acceptance the agent (dual agent for both of us) rushed over with an addendum to the property disclosure statement. The sellers "forgot" to tell us on the disclosure form that the garage leaked water under the door, and that it came in almost a foot when it rained. The agent asked me to initial the addendum that I'd been told about the water penetration, so I did.

Two days later after much consideration, I felt that I should have known of this defect before my bid and my good faith money, not after. I would not have bid as much on this property had I known of this water issue (2nd water issue with this home). I called the dual agent to go to the sellers on my behalf and request a release from the contract. The agent made me talk to the broker of their firm (her husband by the way) who flatly refused to go to the sellers for me. He said, "It's out of my hands," and "legally I'm not able to do it," and "get a lawyer."

I sent a registered letter to the sellers requesting release from the contract stating my concerns, since the agent/broker would not.

A few days later the broker called me "on behalf of the sellers." He told me the sellers expect me to hold up my end of the contract and that they have no intention of releasing me from it. This same broker, who told me he could not go to the seller for me, has now called me several times on the sellers' behalf to bully me into buying the home.

Do I have a case for getting out of the contract? How can they come to me after I bid and gave good faith money and reveal a defect like a leaking garage? Do I have a case against the broker/realtor who are supposed to be neutral and yet insist on advocating only for the seller and leaving me in the lurch? I would appreciate your opinion on this matter. Thank you in advance.

Answer: We see a problem here in that you agreed to the Seller Disclosure Form. You're held to a duty of care of having read it and then agreeing to it. Now, after thinking about it further you are trying to back out. The fact that the real estate agent represented both you and the seller might be a way out depending upon how much evidence you can produce that will support your allegations that he was biased in favor of the seller. You would have had a more believable case if you had simply refused to sign (or initial) the revised Seller's Disclosure form. Bottom line, hire an Ohio attorney with litigation experience dealing with real estate contracts to advise you.