State Exam -The Texas Real Estate Commission

Revocation of License for Claim on Account

If the recovery fund pays out because of a license holder losing a court case, TREC will give the person 31 days from the time they notify them to pay back the fund. If they don't pay the fund back, their license will be revoked. In addition, that person will not even be considered to receive a license again until the fund has been paid back.

Functions of TREC

The Texas Legislature created the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). TREC has two main functions: To enforce all real estate-related statutes in the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1101 and 1102, also referred to as The Texas Real Estate License Act (TRELA) To adopt and enforce new rules governing the practice of real estate, as needed to administer the law and protect the public

Hearings and Appeals

According to TRELA, if the commission proposes to deny, suspend, or revoke a person's license or certificate of registration, the person is entitled to a hearing conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. In this situation, a judge would hear the case and read through the recommendation of the Enforcement Division of TREC, then they would issue a decision. If the license holder is not satisfied with the decision, they can appeal even further The next stop after the State Office of Administrative Hearings is the district court. If the license holder is still not satisfied after that decision is made, they can go to the Texas Supreme Court or present their case directly in front of the Commissioners. Of course, nothing says the agent has to fight the decision. They could agree with it and accept the punishment for their violation.

Duties of TREC

Additionally, the Texas Real Estate Commission's duties deal with licensing. This includes: Issuing and renewing real estate licenses Revoking or suspending licenses Reinstating proceedings against individuals practicing real estate without an appropriate license TREC's primary goal is to protect consumers from fraudulent conduct of license holders who assist them with real estate transactions. To promote these standards, TREC also oversees the educational requirements. This ensures the availability of capable and honest real estate service providers

TRELA Violations

Both TREC and the local government have the power to reprimand the violators of the License Act (TRELA). Engaging in conduct that is dishonest, fraudulent, or negligent may result in: Administrative penalties (TREC can levy an administrative penalty up to $5,000 per violation per each day a violation continues.) Civil fines (License holders could be charged a penalty up to three times the amount of money they received on a transaction.) Criminal charges (Local government can charge license holders with a misdemeanor for violating TRELA.) If a license holder does receive notice of violation from TREC, they have 20 days to either accept the decision or ask for a hearing.

Payments Into Recovery Trust Account

So the money that goes into the Real Estate Recovery Trust Account — where does it come from? The $10 that everyone who applies to get their license for the first time pays All of the penalties charged by the Real Estate Commission for violating the license act Any fine charged by TREC as a penalty for someone who practiced real estate without a license If the balance goes below $1,000,000, every license holder will also have to pay an additional $10 at their next renewal. Other fees or payments into the Real Estate Trust Account come from penalties for violations collected under Subchapter O of the Texas Real Estate License Act

Recovery Trust Account

The commission maintains a monetary fund to reimburse members of the public who have been financially harmed by the unlawful or unscrupulous practices of its license holders. This reimbursement fund is referred to as the Real Estate Recovery Trust Account or the Recovery Trust Account. Payments made from the Trust Account must be court ordered and are limited to: $50,000 arising out of a single incident or $100,000 per license holder (unless the debt has been repaid with the accrued interest) Note: In order for a consumer to receive payment from the Recovery Trust Account, the complaint must be filed within two years of the incident.

Education Standards Advisory Committee

To ensure that license holders are well trained and have an understanding of their limitations and responsibilities in their real estate practice, TREC established an Education Standards Advisory Committee. The function of the ESAC is to review and revise curriculum standards, course content, and instructor certification requirements for both Qualifying and Continuing Education (CE) courses. The committee consists of 12 members appointed by TREC as follows: Seven members who are license holders with at least five years of active real estate experience Four education members who are real estate instructors or owners of real estate schools, accredited by TREC, that provide qualifying or continuing education One member who represents the public

Probation

Unethical practices and violations of TRELA are grounds for a suspended or revoked license. In some cases, TREC may place a license holder on probation. There are a few things that could happen during probation: The Commission could require the license holder to make regular reports. They could also instruct the broker or sales agent to avoid the type of real estate practice that caused the initial problem. The license holder may be required to take more education in real estate until the skill of the agent is increased in the area that caused the violation. If a complaint is filed while the license holder is on probation (and they are found to have violated the License Act), the original decision of suspension or revocation will be applied to that person.

Broker-Lawyer Committee

is an advisory committee comprised of: Six attorneys appointed by the State Bar Six brokers appointed by the Commission One public member The Committee does not have any rule-making ability and can't force Texas license holders to use the contracts they create. Instead, the Broker-Lawyer Committee creates, edits, and recommends contract forms to TREC, which then decides to either promulgate the recommended forms (require license holders to use them), make them voluntary (approve them but not require them), or dismiss them

Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC).

is composed of nine members, all appointed by the governor, who serve six-year terms. These terms are overlapping, so not all nine terms end on the same date. They have six broker members and three non-licensed members with no financial interest in real estate. The governor designates a member to serve as the Chair of the Commission.