[DeanWhitter]

I inquired about renting a 1 bdrm with a local real estate agent. Initially the agent said the home owner wanted to rent all three units on the property to just one person/family but he would check because the owner was considering selling. He emailed me back an offer on 6/19/09 to rent 1 of the units for $900 per month. We met agreed that I would move in July 2, 2009. He then contacted and said the owner wants to change the agreement with regard to having storage in the main house which was going to be on the market. The home owner could not make up her mind about storage and I finally said I would just get a storage unit and they agreed to rent the unit for $850 with no storage. July 2nd came and the real estate agent told me that the current tenant had not left yet and said I could move in as soon as they were out. This caused a great deal of stress for my landlord because I had given her a move out date of 7/2/09 and needed to extend my stay. She agreed to rent to me another two weeks. On July 9th I contacted the real estate agent and asked him if the tenant was out yet. He told they were but I had to wait for the owner to come into town. He also said the home owner was considering not renting to anyone because of the last tenants actions. I let him know that it had nothing to do with me and we had a verbal contract. The agent emailed me on July 14th, 2009 and said the owner would only rent all three properties to one person and I was SOL. Does the verbal agreement I made with them and emails the agent sent create a contract that can be used in court? Do I have anyway to enforce this verbal contract?
The agent and home owner wasted a month of my time and now I have no where to live.

[epawls]

First off, report the Real Estate company to the Better Business Bureau. Then forward a message to the management of the Real Estate company citing your experience and that the agent should find other work. On the contract, it sounds like you have a legally binding contract. It is called an expressed/verbal contract at the very least. Since I do not have the particulars of the e mails you have, there is no way to tell if you have a written contract. Either way, Written or Express, they carry the same weight. The essential elements necessary to form a binding contract are usually described as and borrowed from http://www.window.state.tx.us/.../co...faContract.pdf :

• An Offer
• An Acceptance in strict compliance with the terms of the offer
• Legal Purpose/Objective
• Mutuality of Obligation – also known as the “meeting of the minds”
• Consideration
• Competent Parties

Offer
An offer is defined as the manifestation of the “willingness to enter into a bargain so made as to justify another person
in understanding that his assent to the bargain is invited and will conclude it.”iii
Acceptance
Acceptance of an offer can occur in several ways: Acceptance of an offer is a manifestation of assent to the terms
thereof made by the offeree in a manner invited or required by the offer.iv An acceptance must not change the terms
of an offer. If it does, the offer is rejected.v A material change in a proposed contract constitutes a counteroffer, which
must be accepted by the other party.vi
Legal Purpose
The objective of the contract must be for a legal purpose. For example, a contract for illegal distribution of drugs is not
a binding contract because the purpose for which it exists is not legal.
Mutuality of Obligation
This element is also known as the “meeting of the minds”. Mutuality of obligation refers to the parties' mutual
understanding and assent to the expression of their agreement.vii The parties must agree to the same thing, in the same
sense, at the same time. The determination of a meeting of their minds, and thus offer and acceptance, is based on the
objective standard of what the parties said and did and not their subjective state of mind.viii Unexpressed subjective
intent is irrelevant. In determining whether mutual assent is present, the court looks to the communications between
the parties and to the acts and circumstances surrounding these communications.ix The offer must be clear and
definite just as there must be a clear and definite acceptance of all terms contained in the offer.x Where a meeting of
the minds is contested, the determination of the existence of a contract is a question of fact.xi If the fact finder
determines that one party reasonably drew the inference of a promise from the other party's conduct, that promise will
be given effect in law.xii
To be enforceable, the parties must have agreed on the essential terms of the contract.xiii However, parties may agree
upon some contractual terms, understanding them to be an agreement and leave other contract terms to be made
later.xiv Full agreement on all contractual terms is the best practice and should be the norm. It is only when an
essential term is left open for future negotiation that there is nothing more than an unenforceable agreement to agree.xv
Such an agreement is void as a contract.xvi
Any contract or mutual understanding between parties that differs materially from the original offer is open to legal
challenge. Should any component of a negotiation tend toward a final result where a contract or agreement differs
materially from the offer, that component of the negotiation should cease. If the component in question is critical to
the provision of a service or goods, the issuance of another offer that incorporates that component should be
considered.
Certainty of Subject Matter
In general, a contract is legally binding only if its terms are sufficiently defined to enable a court to understand the
parties' obligations.xvii The rules regarding indefiniteness of material terms of a contract are based on the concept that a
party cannot accept an offer so as to form a contract unless the terms of that contract are reasonably certain.xviii Thus,
the material terms of a contract must be agreed upon before a court can enforce the contract.xix Each contract should
be considered separately to determine its material terms.
As a general rule, an agreement simply to enter into negotiations for a contract later also does not create an enforceable
contract. Parties may agree on some of the terms of a contract and understand them to be an agreement, and yet leave
other portions of the agreement to be made later. Xx
Sometimes terms are omitted from contracts and assuming the omitted term is not an essential term, the courts have
implied terms to preserve the enforceability of the contract should a legal challenge arise. A court may uphold an
agreement by supplying missing terms.xxi Historically, Texas courts prefer to validate transactions rather than void
them, but courts may not create a contract where none exists and they generally may not insert or eliminate essential
terms. Whether a court will imply or supply missing contract terms will depend on the specific facts of the
transaction. An example of terms that have been implied or supplied are time and place of performance.xxii
Consideration
Consideration is an essential element of any valid contract.xxiii Consideration consists of either a benefit to the
promisor or a detriment to the promisee.xxiv It is a present exchange bargained for in return for a promise. It may
consist of some right, interest, profit, or benefit that accrues to one party, or alternatively, of some forbearance, loss or
responsibility that is undertaken or incurred by the other party.xxv It is not necessary for a contract to be supported by
a monetary consideration.xxvi
Competent Parties
Parties to a contract must be competent and authorized to enter into a contract.
taken from http://www.window.state.tx.us/.../co...faContract.pdf


All this legal-ese means that you have what is called a contract and if the boundaries of that contract have been severed for any reason, barring death of the lessor (landlord) or destruction of the property to be lived in, you are entitled to some sort of reprieve. It must be hashed out in small claims court... typically you do not need an attorney, but it is always a good idea to get official legal advice from a certified attorney. It may be a lengthy process to sue, but in the end, you will get your just desserts.