The Inspector Committee has had a busy couple of months since it last met in February.  On March 26^th, the Inspector Consumer Issues Working Group met to review issues regarding inspector financial responsibility and insurance requirements and to also make recommendations for the Committee to consider. In addition to the Inspector Committee members, the Working Group included Paul Roebuck representing TPREIA and Mike Hammel representing TAREI.

The Commission held its regular quarterly meeting on Monday, May 7 at our HQ in Austin.

Definitions:

Broker Assumed Business Name (DBA) is another name for the broker’s business that can be used by all sponsored sales agents and brokers associated with this broker. Another name that indicates a broker’s line of business, e.g.  property management or commercial is also a DBA.

The mission and performance of the Texas Real Estate Commission and Texas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board are under review by the Legislature as required under the Texas Sunset Act.  The Act provides that the Sunset Commission, composed of legislators and public members, periodically evaluate a state agency to determine if the agency is still needed and to explore ways to ensure that the agency's funds are well spent.  Based on the recommendations of the Sunset Commission, the T

TREC has been made aware of a scam requesting information from license holders. The request is sent by email by someone posing as the Texas Real Estate Commission and asks that information be provided to them and provides a link to follow (see example emails).

The Texas Real Estate Commission takes pride in providing high quality education and licensing services, and effective consumer protection across Texas. In recent months, there have been significant issues with the quality of customer service we are providing to consumers and to our license holders. I take personal responsibility for addressing these issues.

It’s been a busy start of the year for the Commission. I traveled around the state in March as part of our Agency’s biennial strategic planning listening tour. This allowed me to receive input first hand from license holders across the state about issues that impact them directly. Tony Slagle, the agency’s inspector staff liaison visited a local chapter of an inspector trade association to discuss concerns and answer their questions. This is something staff is committed to doing more often.

After postponing consideration of proposed changes to inspector insurance requirements at their November 2017 meeting, TREC took no action on the proposed rule amendments and remanded the matter to the Real Estate Inspector Committee at the Commission’s February 2018 meeting.

The Texas Real Estate Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of members to the Broker Responsibility Working Group (BRWG). The BRWG reviews experience requirements and role responsibilities for brokers and makes recommendations to the Commission based on its findings. Members will meet four or five times in the next 10 months to complete the charge given to them by the Commission.  

The Inspector Committee met on Monday, February 26 at the agency headquarters in Austin.