Houston real estate investor and reality TV personality Washington Ho is facing legal action from Christy Huckaby, the former CEO of his brokerage, White House Global Properties. Huckaby filed a lawsuit last September alleging that Ho, current CEO Angelica Smart, and the company made false promises regarding her employment, failed to pay her agreed salary, withheld commissions, and damaged her reputation.
Huckaby claims she was promised $10,000 per month for six months but received only $21,500 in total. She also alleges that Ho and Smart withheld $170,000 in sales commissions. According to Huckaby’s suit, she missed out on a nearly $276,000 commission related to a $4.6 million listing for former Houston Rockets player Steve Francis after Ho and Smart took over the deal.
In addition to financial disputes, Huckaby accuses Ho and Smart of defamation and making inappropriate sexual comments. She says they offered her the prospect of appearing in a spinoff of Ho’s HBO Max show “House of Ho,” which did not materialize.
Ho and Smart have countersued Huckaby. Their filing denies her allegations and accuses her of breach of fiduciary duty. They claim that when Huckaby left the firm she took 20 agents with her—including her 13-person real estate team The Closers—and shut down the brokerage’s website. The countersuit also alleges that Huckaby attempted to blackmail them for $500,000 using damaging personal material.
The dispute has affected others at White House Global Properties as well. Nicole Lopez, who served as COO for two months before leaving with Huckaby’s group, was released from a noncompete agreement by Huckaby. Lopez later joined Corcoran Genesis and described White House as having a “very chaotic environment.”
Neither Huckaby nor her attorney responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit. Ho declined to comment.
White House Global Properties was launched by Ho and Smart in late 2023 after leaving eXp Realty due to disagreements over its commission structure. The new brokerage aimed to offer fairer commissions and focus on investment opportunities but became embroiled in legal battles less than a year after its founding. A jury trial is scheduled for October with both parties seeking damages.
Earlier this year, White House Global Properties expanded operations into Austin with plans to hire 30 to 50 agents over several years. While it specializes in luxury listings, the firm intends to serve all sectors of the Austin market including residential, commercial, industrial, and development properties.
