Articles
Customer Service Team Hard at Work, From Home
Submitted by Christine Anderson on Mon, 2020-06-15 11:08In early March the COVID-19 virus began spreading rapidly throughout the country. The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) and Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) took drastic measures to ensure the health and well-being of the staff while continuing to address the questions and concerns of consumers and license holders. TREC and TALCB quickly determined it was best for staff to transition staff working entirely remotely and allocate resources to do so.
Tips on Rebates, Referrals, and other Promotions
Submitted by Christine Anderson on Wed, 2020-05-20 21:24We regularly receive questions about the difference between rebates, referrals, and other promotions like drawings and client gifts. First, when you are considering offering any of these make sure your advertisements are upfront and clear about what you are offering. If there are terms and conditions to qualify then you should have them in writing and provide them in your advertisement. If you are a sales agent, seek approval of your sponsoring broker before you start offering rebates, referrals, or other promotions
Licensing Exam Sites Re-Opening
Submitted by Christine Anderson on Mon, 2020-04-27 10:11TREC and Pearson VUE announce licensing exam centers to slowly re-open around the state after swift closure in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. TREC partners with Pearson VUE to offer licensing examinations. Pearson VUE operates both company-owned exam sites and third party sites. TREC has authorized the use of all Pearson VUE third party sites to expand exam capacity during this unprecedented time. All sites continue to enforce social distancing measures and safety requirements in line with local jurisdictions. Due to social distancing requirements, exam sites are operating
TREC Launches Approved Course Search Tool
Submitted by Crystal Stowell on Thu, 2020-02-27 10:52The Texas Real Estate Commission is pleased to announce the launch of our Approved Course Search tool. Anyone can use this tool to search for currently approved qualifying or continuing education (CE) courses for real estate or inspector license holders. The tools allows individuals to search for a specific provider or type of course using one or more search functions. Locate a provider by searching their provider name, license number or all providers in the same city. Search for courses by delivery method or the type of course, for example Legal Update I or Legal Update II. This is an
Broker Responsibility Working Group Accepting Applications for Members
Submitted by Amber Hinton on Thu, 2020-02-20 13:17The Texas Real Estate Commission is soliciting interest for membership of the 2020 Broker Responsibility Working Group (BRWG). The BRWG will make recommendations to the Commission based on the scope of its charge and will likely meet four or five times over the 2020 calendar year. The Commission is charging the BRWG to examine experience requirements for potential substitution of education requirements to become a broker. The BRWG will review broker licensing requirements, minimum competency requirements, broker mentorship programs, minimum service requirements in rela
TREC Welcomes New General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel
Submitted by Amber Hinton on Wed, 2020-02-05 11:47AUSTIN, TX - The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is pleased to welcome Vanessa Burgess as General Counsel of the Texas Real Estate Commission effective February 3, 2020.
TREC Eliminates Certain Fees for License Holders
Submitted by Amber Hinton on Thu, 2020-01-23 14:13TREC has worked hard over the past year to improve efficiencies and reduce the burden on license holders who conduct business with the agency. TREC is a self-directed, semi-independent agency, which means that the daily operations of the agency are funded through license fees and other revenue related to the regulation of our license holders.
Rule Actions Taken at the November Meeting
Submitted by Amber Hinton on Thu, 2019-12-12 11:04Many rules were adopted at TREC’s November 19, 2019 meeting, including rule changes to implement Sunset Advisory Commission recommendations and mandates, changes to implement other legislation, and fee changes. Additionally, TREC considered recommendations by the Broker-Lawyer Committee related to promulgated forms.
Responding to a TREC Investigation
Submitted by Christine Anderson on Thu, 2019-11-14 13:08The 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.
The goal of an investigation is to protect consumers and to uphold the integrity of the real estate profession by gathering the facts necessary to resolve the complaint.