Inspectors ask …

"Can I use a drone to inspect the roof instead of climbing it?"

Many inspectors have gotten into the habit of using a drone to inspect the roof instead of walking the roof. This could be problematic if they are not properly following the departure provisions.

TREC Rule 535.228(c)(2) states that an inspector is not required to inspect the roof from the roof level if, in the inspector's reasonable judgment:

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) hosted its first meeting of the year in Austin with a room full of Texas REALTORS® in attendance to earn continuing education credit and receive updates from the agency’s staff and advisory committee members. Here’s what happened.

Thank You for Your Service

The Commission recognized these departing advisory committee members:

The Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee (TREIC) met January 27 for its first meeting of the year. The slate of officers was elected for 2025:

• Lee Warren, chair
• Mike Morgan, vice chair
• Stephanie Huser, secretary

The subcommittee members were also selected. Randy Bayer will serve as the chair of the Standards of Practice (SOP) subcommittee, and Mike Morgan will serve as the chair of the Education subcommittee. The other six members were divided among the two subcommittees, including the newest public member, Cole Robison.

The Broker Responsibility Advisory Committee (BRAC) met January 15. It held elections for officers and selected the following:

For the Texas Real Estate Commission, 2025 opens with the first meeting of the year held by the Education Standards Advisory Committee (ESAC). Its January 6 agenda began with an introduction of new members:

• Christina Valero, license holder member
• Christopher Gonzales, license holder member
• Paul Silverman, educator

Reappointments were also made:

After combing through 1,100 complaints during his 11-year tenure with the Commission, TREC Chief Investigator Roy Minton wins Investigator of the Year for a second time. The first win was in 2019. Both recognitions, by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO), were given for Minton’s work in uncovering rental fraud.

Real estate transactions are complex, so many brokers and sales agents engage the help of assistants to handle the administrative details. Regardless of an assistant’s professional title—unlicensed assistant, administrative assistant, office manager, and transaction coordinator are popular—the real estate license status determines what type of activities they can legally perform in Texas.

The changes listed below, recommended by the Broker-Lawyer Committee, were adopted by the Texas Real Estate Commission during its November 4 meeting. These apply to all contract forms unless specified otherwise.

The Real Estate License Act (TRELA) says a licensed sales agent may not engage in real estate brokerage activity unless that sales agent is sponsored by a licensed broker and is acting for that broker.

In Texas, transaction coordinators and showing agents are frequently used by brokerages as part of their business model, but sometimes these models entail working for other brokerages. Here is what “acting for” your broker means in these situations.

Multiple contract form changes were adopted by the Texas Real Estate Commission during the November 4 TREC Meeting after being recommended by the Broker-Lawyer Committee (BLC). Some of those changes are in response to industry practice changes around broker compensation.

“This has been a topic of interest across the whole industry and represents a lot of hard work on behalf of the Broker-Lawyer Committee and staff,” said TREC Executive Director Chelsea Buchholtz. “This is ongoing. We are not finished yet.”