We do not recommend Lacy Deckard and Ebby Halliday Realtors, Rockwall, TX. My husband and I are…read moreheavily burdened, and extremely disappointed with Lacy Deckard as Real Estate Agent for the purchase and lease of a property in Forney, Texas, using 1031 Exchange provisions. My husband lost over $100,000.00, plus lawyer's fees. Lacy had him purchase a property in a subdivision that has an HOA strict leasing restrictions. Before the purchase, I asked Lacy about the HOA restrictions. She texted me saying "Leasing is allowed..." She did not mention the relevant HOA requirements that the buyer/homeowner must own the property for one year before they can list it to lease, and the HOA also has 2% cap for rentals and the cap was full, with 15 homeowners in the wait list at that time.
After the property was purchase and the tenant that Lacy recommended signed the lease contract and paid for the deposit, Lacy forwarded to me the HOA's email notice of violation with her suggestions to lie saying, "They do not know the property leased, nor do I plan to tell them... If you like, I can respond back and say you have chosen not to list the property as you will be moving into the house and confirm it has been removed from our site."
On May 25, 2022, at 2:30 pm. Lacy sent an email to the HOA with her lie statements saying, "The listing was removed. The owner was planning on moving into the property as soon as it closed, however due to some family issues the move needed to be delayed. The original plan when purchasing was NOT to lease the property."
On May 25, 2022, at 2:32 pm. After Lacy sent her email above to the HOA, she then forwarded her email to me with her very unethical message saying, "FYI - Please see the email below. We'll just need to let the tenant know not to say she's renting. I can have a conversation with her about that - NO biggie"
My husband and I were shocked as we thought that Lacy Deckard was a trustworthy realtor. My husband and I felt misled, angry, extremely disappointed, and did not know what to do.
On May 30, 2023, I emailed Lacy saying that my husband wants her to handle this problem in a way that he will not get into any legal issues. Lacy replied, "I wanted to let you know we spoke with our in-house Attorney today regarding the situation. ...our attorney said as Ebby we have to terminate the current lease listing agreement and lease due to the letter received, and you'll need to return the deposit to the tenant."
The whole buying and leasing transactions fell through.
My husband filed a complaint at the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) on or about 3/1/2023, and a civil case is ongoing for the recovery of our financial losses.
For the TREC complaint, we are very THANKFUL for TREC's prompt action and conclusion in favor of my husband.
Below is an excerpt from the TREC's Advisory letter, issued on September 22, 2023, to Real Estate Agent, Lacy Deckard, her Supervisor, Sylvia K., and to the designated broker for Ebby Halliday.
RE: TREC File No. 233349
"You are hereby admonished that continued violations of the broker's responsibility Rule (Section 535.2), will result in progressive disciplinary action against you and Ebby Halliday.
While we are anticipating no further action on this matter, we expect you to take note of our concerns and conduct all future real estate brokerage activities in compliance with the Act and Rules. This advisory letter is a part of our records and is considered as evidence of pattern and practice if we receive future complaints of this nature.
Our determination does not preclude the complainant from exploring possible remedies to which they feel they may be entitled. "