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     | Sunday, April 15, 2001 - 03:55 am  We are in a lease/purchase home. We have made 8 payments of $800 each, $750 to rent $50 to purchase. This goes to a ReMax RealEstate Co that is acting also as the property manager. When the lease/contract was signed a check for $750 was for deposit & went in to an escrow account. $50 per month was to be held towards the purchase of the home. My understanding was that was to be held in escrow also. Yesterday the realtor handleing this sent us the owners check & a monthly statment. The statement reads: payment 4/2/01 $800 $75.00 for Property Management service $725.00 disbursed to owner. Where is the $50.00 that's suppose to go towards purchase? Does anyone have any knowledge of this type of transaction? We are in FLorida. Thanks
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| | Sunday, April 15, 2001 - 10:11 am What's your contract state? And why is the agent giving you the owner's check and statement? It really has nothing to do with YOUR statement and of course he'll charge the owner for management. Have you read Lease Options? This is an odd lease option, with only $50/month to the purchase it'll be a long time to get a down payment.
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| | Sunday, April 15, 2001 - 03:32 pm Our contract states in the deposit column: $750.00 nonrefundable deposit. To be held in escrow. With the words $50 of payment each month to go toward purchase, next to it. They wanted $750 a month & none to go toward purchase so we opted the $50 extra to go toward purchase. Shouldn't all monies collected for the purpose of purchase if we opt, to be held in an escrow account? Not being sent to the owners for their personal use. If not held in an account can we request the return of the money all ready collected & the return to the $750 payment the owner required in the begining? (Nothing to cover this in our contract) So far this realtor has violated several of the Florida stautes. I couldn't find anything specific on this type of problem. The reason we recievied it is cause she is incompetent & obiously sent it to the wrong address. I didn't realize it until I opened it. She was the listing agent on the property & also is the acting property manager. This is just one of many reasons we do not wish to purchase this property when our option comes up.
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| | Sunday, April 15, 2001 - 03:51 pm Forgot, the contract part for the $50 toward purchase also states that this is refundable. Which we have also put on every check that we have made payments with.
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| | Monday, April 16, 2001 - 04:11 pm If the contract does not say that it is to be held in escrow, nothing requires them to do so. They will simply give you a credit at the closing assuming that you purchase the home. It would be a problem for the seller if the $750 was listed as a security deposit and not an option fee. Most states require that option money be separate from any security deposits as security deposits are refundable. Thus you may be able to get the $750 back. There is nothing wrong with the agent collecting a management fee and this is actually quite common. As for sending the check to you, big mistake. Since you have stated that you don't want to buy the home, why not ask if they will allow you to pay just the $750? Might as well try and keep the extra $50 yourself then to try and get it back later.
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| | Monday, April 16, 2001 - 04:56 pm I spoke with our attorney today & she said they have to hold the $50 ea month in an escrow account. Any monies paid for the purchase of real estate have to be held in an account until closing. This is also totally refundable if no purchase is made. Written in the contract. Every checked paid to them was noted $750 rent, $50 refundable escrow. Of course they are getting paid. The object was they are not reporting the $50 & are sending it directly to the owners for their personal use. When I called the realtor to get a statement on account of this money. She sturtted a bit, silence & said she had to talk to bookeeping they had it. The $750 is listed as a non refundable deposit. Actually I am going to ask for everything they all ready got of the refundable & go to the $750 a month payments. The realtor is the one who original told us it was going in to an interest bearing account. If I had know the truth I would have put it in one myself. So far in Florida I have not found one honest person in the real estate or mortgage buisness. Makes it hard to get anywhere.
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