October is here. It is finally cooling off outside and the hints of fall in the air give me a spirit of optimism for our future.  I hope that is true for you too.

Contracts Course Search Available

Starting February 1, three hours of contracts will be required for all sales agents and broker license renewals. These hours can be fulfilled by a range of contract courses currently available. The Commission has updated our online course search tool so license holders can easily search for approved contracts courses.

More updates will unfold in the coming months, including additional information on the continuing education resource page available to license holders when renewing; this will allow license holders to determine whether CE already taken satisfies the new contracts CE requirement.

Upcoming Meetings

October is full of committee meetings. The Education standards Advisory Committee just met earlier this week and the Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee, Broker Responsibility Working Group, and Broker Lawyer committees are meeting later in the month to prepare for the upcoming Commission meeting. It has never been easier to attend, given that all meetings are currently conducted remotely.  Check out the calendar on the agency’s website and save the date for any meetings of interest.  In particular, the BRWG will finalize recommendations to the Commission regarding the experience and education requirements to become a broker.  And the Broker Lawyer Committee will review the high volume of comments submitted in response to the proposed changes to the promulgated forms.

New Deputy General Counsel Announced

We have conducted deputy general counsel interviews to replace Mark Moore, who recently retired.  I am excited to announce that Abby Lee will join the team later this month.  She previously worked for Texas REALTORS and acted as a liaison between Texas REALTORS and TREC.  She left that post in December of last year to join another trade organization. I am delighted to have her join our team.

COVID-19 Response

We continue to fulfill our mission and meet customer service needs while operating remotely.  We will likely continue in this capacity until this pandemic is behind us with little to no impact on our license holders and the public.  The mail is processing more slowly, so you may see delayed processing of items that physically arrive in the mail.  Additionally, our office is not currently open to the public.  Should you need to contact the agency, you can find up to date contact information on our website.

I hope each of you finds a way to recharge in some way.  These times have been hard, and we all need to find a way to be kind to ourselves and each other.