The GAR Lease is very specific regarding the obligations of Holders of Security Deposits for leased property. Compliance requires that the Holder adhere to multiple time limits for the preparation of Move-Out Statements and for the return of the full Security Deposit or deductions of funds from the Security Deposit.
 
The Move-In Inspection
Per the GAR Lease Agreement, a Security Deposit is not given until there is a Move-In Inspection, which includes a list of any existing damages to the premises.  Both the Landlord and Tenant must agree to the list of pre-existing damages and sign the Move-In Inspection.  The Move-In Inspection creates a base line for any change to the property at Move-Out.
Because there is often a time lag between the signing of a lease and the Move-In Inspection, it is common that the Tenant pay a Reservation Fee, which can be non-refundable, to the Landlord or Manager.  The reservation fee then converts to a Security Deposit following the delivery of the Move-In Inspection.  This has to be spelled out in the Lease.
If the Holder is a real estate agency like RMAA, the funds must be deposited within 5 banking days an into an escrow account.  The Security Deposit cannot be released to the Landlord or to the Tenant until there is a Move-Out Statement.
 
When is the Move-Out Statement prepared?
The Move-Out Statement must be prepared within three (3) banking days after the termination of occupancy. If all goes well and there is a satisfactory Move-Out Agreement
at the termination of the lease, the Security Deposit must be returned to the Tenant by the Holder within 30 days of termination.   
If the tenant terminates occupancy without notifying the Holder, the Holder may make a final inspection within a reasonable time after discovering the termination of occupancy. The tenant has the right to inspect the premises within five (5) banking days after the termination of occupancy in order to ascertain the accuracy of the Move-Out Statement. If the tenant agrees with the Move-Out Statement, the tenant signs. If the tenant refuses to sign the Move-Out Statement, the tenant has to specify in writing, the items on the Move-Out Statement with which they disagree within three (3) banking days. For all purposes herein, a banking day shall not include Saturday, Sunday or federal holidays.
 
What if the Move-Out is not satisfactory and there are damages to the property?
Deductions from Security Deposit: The Holder has the right to deduct the following from the Security Deposit: (1) the cost of repairing any damage to Premises or Property caused by Tenant, Tenant’s household or their invitees, licensees and guests, other than normal wear and tear; (2) unpaid rent, utility charges or pet fees; (3) cleaning costs if Premises is left unclean; (4) the cost to remove and dispose of any personal property; (5) late fees and any other unpaid fees, costs and charges referenced herein.
 
What if the Tenant abandons the property or does not co-operate with the Move-Out procedure?
If the tenant terminates occupancy without notifying the Holder, the Holder may make a final inspection within a reasonable time after discovering the termination of occupancy. The tenant has the right to inspect the premises within five (5) banking days after the termination of occupancy in order to ascertain the accuracy of the Move-Out Statement. If the tenant agrees with the Move-Out Statement, the tenant signs. If the tenant refuses to sign the Move-Out Statement, the tenant has to specify in writing, the items on the Move-Out Statement with which they disagree within three (3) banking days. For all purposes herein, a banking day shall not include Saturday, Sunday or federal holidays.
 
What If a Security Deposit is Dishonored?
If a SD is not honored, the Holder must notify all parties to this Agreement in writing. The Tenant then has three (3) banking days after notice to deliver good funds. In the event Tenant does not timely deliver good funds, Landlord has the right to terminate this Lease. 

​We are often faced with selling property after an owner has died. Every situation
is different, but here are a few basics you should know. The following are
examples from the quickest and easiest sale of real estate after a death of an
owner to the more time consuming and difficult.
Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship
Property owned in joint tenancy with the right of survivorship automatically
passes to the surviving owners when one owner dies. No probate is necessary.
Joint tenancy can be used when couples (married or not) acquire real estate,
vehicles, bank accounts or other valuable property together.
Property Held in A Living Trust
A Living Trust is basically an alternative to a will for the property held in the Living
Trust. A decedent creates a Living Trust before death, just like a will. Title to
property is transferred to and held in the Living Trust and beneficiaries are
named. The creator of the trust is the initial Trustee and has the power to sell it
as the Trustee while alive. In the Living Trust document, a successor Trustee
would be named and the beneficiaries of the living trust are named. Except for
the Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship, this is the easiest way to transfer
property after death without the property going through probate court. No
probate, no court and no judges are involved. The property can be promptly
transferred to the beneficiaries. The Living Trust is becoming very popular, for
good reasons.
If Tom Thompson is the owner of property held in a Living Trust and he wants to
transfer it during his lifetime, he would execute a Purchase and Sale Agreement
as Tom Thompson, Trustee of the Living Trust of Tom Thompson. If there are 2
or more trustees in the living trust, both or all must execute any sale. The closing
attorney will request the living trust document and examine it prior to closing to
be certain the document includes proper authority to sell.

Property of a Decedent That Died With a Will
An estate with real property that is NOT a part of a joint tenancy or in a Living
Trust will have to be administered by the probate court or “go through probate.”
If the will names an Executor with expanded powers, including the power to

transfer real estate, then the Probate Court is petitioned by the Executor or
Executor’s attorney for a “Letter Testamentary.” When the “Letter Testamentary”
is granted, the Executor can legally sell the property as the representator of the
Estate.
If an Executor is not named or the Executor was not granted the expanded power
to sell property in the estate, then the Executor has to petition the court for leave
to sell and the court then has to grant permission to sell. However, it can get
complicated. Before granting permission to sell, the court must notify all heirs or
beneficiaries and ask for any objections to the court granting an ability to sell to
the Executor. If there are objections, a hearing may be required. The Executor
cannot sell the property until the process has concluded. Obviously, the process
of obtaining court permission to sell in a limited power situation is time
consuming and expensive.
Property of a Decedent that died Without a Will
The proper reference for a situation of death without a will is that the party died
intestate. Georgia law controls the distribution to beneficiaries of an intestate
estate. The representative for the estate is called an Administrator. The probate
court names the Administrator, who performs the same functions as an Executor.
How long does all of this take?
Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship and Property Held in A Living Trust are
the quickest and easiest ways to transfer real estate. Assuming no
complications, property can be sold almost immediately with Joint Tenancy and
Living Trusts. Other property that goes through probate can take months to
years. If a seller comes to you with Letters Testamentary or Administrative
Letters already in their possession, you can list and sell right away. Otherwise,
count on a delay.
Note: Probate cannot be avoided entirely. Even if all of the property, including
real property, cash, stock and insurance policies, in an estate can pass directly to
the joint partner and beneficiaries, the probate court still requires that a will be
validated. The probate court must also approve any requests to avoid probate.

Moral of this article: Before you list and sell real property after an owner’s death,
be certain that the Executor or Administrator has the proper authority to sell in
the form of Letters Testamentary or Administration. If in doubt, contact one of
the Broker Team or your closing attorney!

​RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) is a law passed by Congress in 1974 to curb unethical practices and consumer abuse in real estate settlement charges. Before RESPA, real estate professionals and closing service providers routinely abused consumers with unnecessary fees to close on their homes
Under RESPA, real estate firms and agents are required to disclose business arrangements which may result in fees or compensation to the real estate agent or brokerage. Whenever a real estate agent refers either a homeowner or buyer to a law firm, mortgage company or other associated settlement service, an affiliated business arrangement comes into existence. Therefore, a Disclosure Statement is required by law to be provided to and signed by the homeowner or buyer.  To stay in compliance with the law, RMAA requires that every brokerage agreement, whether with a buyer or a seller, include an ABAD.
RESPA contains provisions relating to prohibition against kickbacks and unearned fees. However, a referral that could result in fees is not prohibited if the person making each referral has provided to each person referred a written disclosure, in the format of the Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure Statement.
A “referral” of a law firm or lender or other service can be oral or written. It just has to have the effect of affirmatively influencing the selection by any person of a provider of a settlement service or business incident to or part of a settlement service.
Violations of RESPA can result in fines, penalties and in civil actions by individuals. The penalties for violating RESPA can be quite severe. At one time, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined a mortgage lender, two real estate brokers, and a mortgage servicer almost $4 million in penalties and consumer relief.
There is liability for a violation of RESPA even if the proposed real estate transaction does not conclude. Therefore, the practice of providing disclosure at the time of initiating a brokerage relationship is critical.
The RMAA ABAD form can be located 2 ways.  It can be easily downloaded in Remine at the time brokerage agreements are accessed.  Simply choose the forms package RMAA 01 RE/MAX Around Atlanta.  The drop down includes the ABAD.  Select it and it will be one of your forms in the transaction. It is also in the RMAA Resource Library section of the RMAA Hub, in the Office Forms and Documents section as a stand-alone form.

It often happens that a RE/MAX Around Atlanta agent represents a buyer and another RE/MAX Around Atlanta agent represents a seller in the same transaction.  The Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions, BRETTA, a Georgia statute, controls the legal relationship of brokers to clients in this situation.In these cases, BRETTA allows the managing broker to legally assigns different licensees as designated agents to exclusively represent different clients in the same transaction. The reason for the designation of different agents as exclusive representatives of the different parties is to properly to perform the duties owed to the individual clients, particularly, to maintain the confidential information of the parties. 
 
BRETTA avoids the dual agency position by allowing for Designated Agency by law. RMAA does not allow dual agency, except in unique, unavoidable situations with the permission of the managing broker.
 
The GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement requires the disclosure of designated agency at the section 10, Brokerage Relationships in this Transaction.  The proper way to complete the section is with RE/MAX Around Atlanta as the Broker for both parties, but with the individual designated agents providing exclusive representation for the buyer and for the seller.
 
10. Brokerage Relationships in this Transaction. 
In a designated agency transaction, the designated agent for the buyer owes the same duties to the buyer as if the agent was acting only as a buyer’s agent. Similarly, the designated agent for the seller owes the same duties to the seller as if the agent was acting only as the seller’s agent. With designated agency, each designated agent is prohibited from disclosing to anyone other than his or her broker any information requested to be kept confidential by the client unless the information is otherwise required to be disclosed by law. Therefore, designated agents may not disclose such confidential information to other agents in the company. The broker is also prohibited from revealing any confidential information he or she has received from one designated agent to the other designated agent, unless the information is otherwise required to be disclosed by law. Confidential information is defined as any information that could harm the client’s negotiating position which information the client has not consented to be disclosed.