Many of you know that the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) and the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) is currently undergoing a review by the staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission. But what is a Sunset review and why is it necessary?

In the mid-1970s, many states, including Texas, established Sunset laws as a method to introduce an additional level of accountability for state agencies. Here’s a breakdown of how the process works in Texas:

To Help Improve Response Times and Quality of Communication TREC Is Launching More Ways to Get In Touch With The Agency

We know many of you have had a hard time getting through to the agency. We're working every day to improve our response times and customer satisfaction. We are pleased to announce the launch of several new ways to get in touch with us:

 (Hint: the money doesn’t fund the Commission)

Administrative penalties are not revenue -- the Commission doesn’t make money from administrative penalties. Instead, the money goes to a trust account to pay consumers for judgments against a license holder.

TREC has been made aware of a scam requesting money from our license holders. The request is sent by text by someone posing as the Texas Real Estate Commission and asks that a specified amount be paid through Square Cash and provides a link to pay the amount (see example texts below).

Brokers and sales agents often use unlicensed personnel for assistance in conducting their real estate brokerage activities. Such unlicensed persons, sometimes referred to as administrative assistants, can be of great help to a busy agent. However, care must be taken to ensure that the unlicensed person does not conduct any of the activities for which a real estate license is required. This article defines some of those activities which may and may not be legally conducted by unlicensed persons.