December is upon us and the Holiday Season has begun in earnest. From our agency to your offices and homes, we wish you all the very best of blessings of the Season and a prosperous New Year in 2020. At TREC & TALCB we are celebrating the selection of our next Executive Director and Commissioner who will take on those responsibilities effective January 1^st.

I find it hard to believe it is almost the end of 2019 already! We have been so busy that the time truly seems to have flown by. The Holiday Season is now upon us and we are looking forward to the New Year with great anticipation. Let me wish each of you all the very best during this special time of year!

The newly proposed process for qualifying inspector education was up for adoption at the November TREC meeting.  However, the Commission postponed consideration to adopt these rules at the request of the Governor’s office. Senate Bill 1995 was passed last legislative session that creates a division within the Governor’s office to review all agency proposed rules that affect market competition before the rule is adopted or implemented.

Many 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. 

AUSTIN, TX - The Texas Real Estate Commission (the Commission) is pleased to announce the recent appointments of two new committee members and two reappointments to the Education Standards Advisory Committee (ESAC). Public member, Rick Albers of Austin and educator member, Candy Cooke of Round Rock, have been appointed; and broker members, Rob Cook of Houston and Sarah Norman of Bryan have been reappointed to ESAC, with terms set to expire in December 2021.

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is pleased to announce Chelsea Buchholtz as Executive Director of TREC effective January 1, 2020. She will be the first female executive director in TREC’s history. The Executive Director also serves as the Commissioner of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB), who participated significantly in the selection process. Ms. Buchholtz currently serves as the Commission’s General Counsel.

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.