Recently, the Commission was mentioned in a news story about a former license holder whose license was revoked by the agency. Although this kind of fraudulent behavior is not typical for TREC license holders, this serves as an important reminder that Texans should always investigate any real estate service providers they engage or work with. 

Before wiring money for an escrow deposit or to close on a home purchase, License Holders should make sure to talk with their clients to ensure they are sending funds to the correct recipient and account.  Consumers should not rely on instructions sent by email without contacting their broker or sales agent to verify the instructions are correct, since emails may be hijacked by potential scammers. Check out this article for more information on what to look out for and avoid.

The 2019 Legislative Session concluded on May 27. With over 7,000 bills filed by legislators, this session was a busy one.  While the Agency’s primary focus this session was on our Sunset legislation, we did keep our eye on the progress of several bills that could have impacted the Agency in one way or another.

Below is a list the bills that passed and a brief summary of their impact the regulatory authority of the Agency. In case you missed it, we hosted a Facebook LIVE discussing these bills and more. Check out the video below: 

The future of the Plumbing Board has been on the minds of many inspectors since the end of the legislative session. As a result of action taken by Governor Abbott, the Plumbing Board will continue until 2021; please be sure to see our article on this to get all the information you need.

This month we published two articles that I thought would be helpful to share with you that reflect some of the required changes outlined in the final report from the agency’s sunset review process.

As a result of changes recommended by TREC and implemented by the Agency’s sunset bill, a separate license certificate displaying the address for each branch office maintained by a broker or brokerage will no longer be required as of September 1, 2019,

Scott Kesner was appointed chair of the Texas Real Estate Commission on April 25, 2019. With more than 25 years of experience, this appointment is another highlight in Scott's long career.  Chair Kesner recently traveled to Austin from his home city of El Paso to meet with Agency senior staff and learn more about the Commission. He spent the day speaking to each director, learning about everything from enforcement to communications to technology. We sat down with Scott to ask him some questions about his experiences and learn more about his plans.

The 2019 Legislative Session is finished. While there was no legislative action that specifically relates to the regulation of inspectors, the Agency Sunset Bill passed, which deals directly with the regulatory authority of this Agency. Several other bills that impact the licensing authority of all regulatory agencies also passed. The Agency is determining what rules need to be recommended, some of which will likely come before the Inspector Committee at its July 15 meeting. 

The Commission met for its regular quarterly business meeting on Monday, May 6^th and we had a full agenda.  It was my very first meeting presiding as the newly appointed and confirmed Chair, so it was quite an experience getting prepared in the very short period after my confirmation on April 24^th.  At this meeting, we also welcomed two new Commissioners who were confirmed on May 1^st - Barbara Russell of Denton and Chief Deputy Sherriff Jason Hartgraves of Dallas County.

UPDATE: