Broker notes
What Texas agents should be paying attention to.
Sign laws, form changes, contract traps, and how brokerages treat agents. Plain English, with the rules cited.
22 posts
- Why every JRE listing shares one sign (and where your brand still shows)Why Jorgenson Real Estate uses one consistent yard sign on every listing, what agents can customize (phone number, headshot or team logo, name, two lines), and the research and Texas rules behind it.
- Realtor.com+ is free. Here’s what the terms say about your clients’ data.Both Austin-area MLSs offer Realtor.com+ as a member benefit. A broker’s read of the terms: real client protections, where they stop, what agents agree to, and the questions we asked our MLSs.
- Stop being an unpaid contractor: getting paid to manage pre-listing updates in TexasAgents already coordinate painters, flooring, and staging for sellers for free. How to prove an update is worth it with comps, and how to get paid for project management the right way under Texas rules.
- Mortgage rates jumped past 7.5%. Here’s why, and what to tell your clientsMortgage rates hit their highest level since 2023 in late September 2026. Why rates follow the bond market rather than the Fed, what’s driving it, and what agents should tell sellers, buyers, and their sphere.
- Price cut or seller credit? The math Texas buyers should see firstOn a $400,000 home, $10,000 off the price saves about $61 a month, while a $10,000 credit used for a rate buydown can save $84 to $167 a month. When each wins, the seller-credit limits by loan type, and a Texas property tax myth to skip.
- Coming soon, Flex, or office exclusive? Every listing option a Central Texas seller should hearClear Cooperation, NAR’s 2025 listing options, Unlock MLS Flex listings, office exclusives, the Zillow and Compass fights, and what the contested price data actually says. Sellers should have options, and they should hear all of them.
- Hosting an open house for another brokerage in Texas? Every buyer signs first (2026 rules)Since January 1, 2026, Texas requires a written agreement before showing residential property. If you host an open house for another brokerage’s listing, every prospective buyer gets the IABS and signs a showing agreement like TXR-1508 before they tour, even if they have an agent.
- The Texas agent advertising mistakes that lead to TREC complaints (and how to fix them)The 50% broker-name rule (QR codes and handles count), the IABS and Consumer Protection Notice links your social profiles need (and the 2026 IABS update), team names, “Just Sold” claims, and why you should get permission before posting a sold price.
- Fair housing words (and ad targeting) Texas agents should stop usingWhich listing phrases are fine and which to drop (“perfect for families,” “adults only,” “quiet for seniors”), why ad targeting can violate fair housing law, the Texas additions, and how to answer “is it a good area?” without steering.
- Real estate wire fraud: “We will never email you wiring instructions”How closing wire fraud works (now with AI voice cloning), what the FBI’s 2025 numbers show, why agents can be held responsible, the rules every agent should follow, and exactly what to do in the first hours if money is wired to a criminal.
- Intermediary with and without appointments: what Texas agents can (and can’t) sayTexas has no dual agency. When one brokerage represents both sides, the broker is an intermediary. With appointments, each side gets an agent who can advise them; without, the agent can’t give either side opinions. What the law requires and what agents get wrong.
- Agent safety at open houses and showings: a checklist for Texas agentsAbout 1 in 5 agents had a situation that made them fear for their safety, and open houses top the list. A practical safety checklist for meeting new clients, showing homes, and hosting open houses.
- Made a mistake? Report it now: E&O insurance basics for Texas agentsMost real estate E&O policies are claims-made-and-reported, and in Texas, notice after the policy period ends is generally fatal to coverage. What to do (and not do) the moment something goes wrong on a deal.
- Stop using the Unlock MLS 410 broker compensation addendumThe Unlock MLS 410 Addendum Confirming Broker Compensation amends each broker’s representation agreement from inside the sales contract, and duplicates Paragraph 12B of the TREC contract. It’s optional, so you don’t have to sign it.
- How you off-board a departing agent matters more than you thinkShutting off a departing agent’s email or MLS access mid-transaction hurts clients first. What Texas rules actually require when an agent leaves, and what good off-boarding looks like.
- Old TREC contract + new Amendment: the Paragraph 12A(1)(b) trapTREC renumbered Paragraph 12 on July 1. On old 20-18 contracts, 12A(1)(b) is broker compensation; on the new contract it’s the closing cost credit. Check Box 4 on the new Amendment against an old contract and the buyer’s credit never exists.
- Texas option period “extensions”: who gets paid, when, and why $0 won’t holdExtending the option period on a Texas resale contract really buys a new option. The additional fee goes directly to the seller, before the current option expires, and it can’t be zero. The 3-day pay-to-escrow rule doesn’t apply.
- Texas’s “ghost sign” law (HB 3611): why the name on the sign now pays the fineHB 3611 made the agent and brokerage advertised on a bandit sign liable, with penalties up to $5,000. What changed on September 1, 2025, why it reaches brokers, state highway rules, and what Round Rock, Georgetown, and Austin allow.
- Who owns your database? What Follow Up Boss’s 2025 terms actually sayFollow Up Boss’s Terms of Service and privacy addendum took effect November 15, 2025. What they say about your contacts, AI training, Zillow “mutual customers,” and leaving, plus seven questions to ask any CRM vendor.
- Parking your Texas real estate license: REALTOR brokerage vs. LFRO vs. going inactiveWhy a REALTOR broker effectively makes every agent join the association, how a Limited Function Referral Office (LFRO) gets around it, what referral-only agents can and can’t do, and when to just go inactive.
- Showing feedback: how to ask for it, and how to give it without hurting your buyer76% of local buyer agents want feedback requests by text. How listing agents can get answers (and set seller expectations), and why buyer agents should never share their buyer’s thoughts without permission.
- How to switch real estate brokerages in TexasYour agreement, the TREC sponsorship change, pending deals, listings, MLS, and advertising, step by step.