The Texas Real Estate Commission takes pride in providing high quality education and licensing services, and effective consumer protection across Texas. In recent months, there have been significant issues with the quality of customer service we are providing to consumers and to our license holders. I take personal responsibility for addressing these issues. I want you to know that I – along with the entire Texas Real Estate Commission staff – recognize your frustrations, and we are committed to solving these issues.

Standards & Enforcement Services is frequently asked – “What are your most common violations?” And, “How do I stay out of trouble?” The agency regularly disciplines license holders for violations in all but the last area.

1. SUPERVISE your sales agents.  It is not a defense to broker supervision (Rule 535.2) to say you don’t supervise your sales agents. In other words, saying “I didn’t know about it” is sometimes more of an admission than a defense.

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.