The short version: When an agent leaves, cut access to sensitive systems, but don’t cut off their clients. Texas requires prompt written notice to TREC, listings and buyer agreements stay with the broker, and commissions follow the agreement. None of that requires killing an agent’s email or forms access mid-deal.
A note to my fellow Central Texas brokers: the way you off-board an agent who decides to leave matters a lot more than you think.
This year I’ve watched agents leave other brokerages and get hit with some version of each of these:
- Email shut off almost immediately, mid-transaction, with clients still writing to that address.
- Notice requirements of several weeks, or a large fee to leave sooner.
- MLS and forms access cut off the same day, with deals still pending.
- A handful of things that just made me tilt my head like a confused dog.
A few brokerages handled it well. Most didn’t, and that’s honestly been shocking.
Who gets hurt
When you cut off an agent’s email or forms access overnight, the agent isn’t the only one who loses. The buyer waiting on an amendment, the seller whose lender needs a document, and the agent on the other side of the deal all lose too. Clients don’t care about the business dispute. They care that their closing is on track.
What the rules actually require
- Notify TREC, right away. When the sponsorship ends, the party ending it has to notify the other party and TREC in writing immediately, and the agent’s license goes inactive until a new broker sponsors them (Tex. Occ. Code §1101.367).
- Listings and buyer agreements belong to the broker. They’re made with the brokerage, not the individual agent. Who keeps working those clients is a conversation between the brokers and the clients, and it should be had quickly.
- Commissions follow the agreement. A sales agent is paid by or through their sponsoring broker, and a commission earned while sponsored is paid under that broker’s written consent and agreement (22 TAC §535.2).
None of that requires cutting off communication between an agent and their clients on day one.
What good off-boarding looks like
- Turn off access to sensitive systems (company financials, other agents’ data, admin tools) right away. That part is fair.
- Leave email running, or set up a clear auto-reply and forward, until pending clients are handed off cleanly.
- Agree in writing, the same week, who services each pending deal, listing, and buyer agreement.
- Don’t pull forms or MLS access out from under an active transaction without a plan for that file.
- Pay what’s owed, when it’s owed, the way the agreement says.
- Release the TREC sponsorship promptly so the agent isn’t stuck inactive.
Why it matters to brokers
Agents talk. How you treat the people who leave is the clearest signal to the people who stay, and to every agent you’ll ever try to recruit. These are people who gave your brokerage their blood, sweat, and tears. We can do better, and we can be better for them.
Thank you for attending my TED Talk. If you’re an agent thinking about a move, our guide to switching brokerages in Texas walks through the process step by step.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. TREC says I can’t practice law, and I like my license. Run your specific situation past your broker or a real estate attorney.
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