The filing of a complaint against a real estate license holder is not uncommon.  In fiscal year 2019, the Texas Real Estate Commissions’ Standards & Enforcement Services Division (SES) reviewed 1,615 complaints filed by consumers against real estate brokers and sales agents and Commission investigators completed 467 field investigations.  

It’s been a busy fall for TREC and the Inspector Committee. We continue to implement the Sunset recommendations and statutory changes, most of which will be considered for adoption at the November 19th Commission meeting, including the amendments to the inspector qualifying education rules. If adopted by the Commission at the November meeting, these new requirements will take effect on May 1, 2020.

November has arrived, the World Series is done, NFL Football is halfway over, and the extended Holiday season is just around the corner.  Before you know it, Thanksgiving Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter solstice, Christmas and New Year’s will be upon us, affording each of us at least one tradition to celebrate.

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is pleased to announce Chief Investigator Roy Minton, has received the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) Investigator of the Year Award for 2019. 

The Texas Real Estate Commission is accepting applications for appointment for an Inspector member position on the Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee to fill an unexpired term ending in December 2021.

The Inspector Committee met on October 7 at the Texas Real Estate Commission.  Many of the items before the committee were proposed at the July meeting.  The Committee received public comments on the proposed changes.  The Committee considered those comments, and the proposals moved forward as written.  The most notable changes in the rules are those to the pre-licensure for home inspectors in Texas.  The new process cuts the number of hours required approximately in half for the most utilize

October marks six months since I began with the Commission.  I am grateful for the warm welcome and generosity shown to me by our staff team, our policymakers and our license holders.

To implement requirements in the agency’s Sunset bill, the Commission recently adopted rules eliminating TREC licenses for instructors.  However, the standards that set the qualifications for instructors did not change.  Effective September 1, education providers are now responsible to ensure instructors meet the qualifications to teach a course.

TREC recently amended §535.148 (and made conforming changes to §535.220) to strengthen settlement service provider independence and provide clarity about consumer protection issues when a license holder pays funds to or receives funds from another real estate settlement service provider.  TREC has long had rules in place limiting an inspector’s

In August the Commission met for its regular quarterly meeting, and the agenda was far from typical!  We said a special thanks to Mr. Brad Philips who has served for twelve years on the Inspector Advisory Committee, with two terms as its Chair. The majority of the lengthy meeting was filled with fiscal year-end updates on a variety of matters that are a result of the 2019 legislative session, and much of which needed to be accomplished before September 1st or by January 1st.