State Test Section Questions Set

TREC has: 9 commission members, 3 represent the general public and 6 are brokers. -all are appointed by the governor and approved by the senate -they serve 6 year terms The broker lawyer committee has: -writes the promulgated forms -has 13 members, 6 members are brokers appointed by TREC, 6 are lawyers appointed by the president of the state bar association, and 1 is a public member appointed by the governor Handling of complaints by TREC: -An individual has four years from the effective date of a contract or the date of the incident to file a complaint with TREC regarding the license holder involved. After four years, TREC will no longer investigate a complaint. The complaint must be written and signed. -TREC can initiate an investigation against a license holder at its own motion. -Only TREC has the power to issue or revoke Real Estate Licenses. A hearing for the revocation or suspension is held at TREC in Austin unless a license holder requests the hearing be held in his county. -If your license is revoked by TREC, you may appeal the decision to the district court Penalties for performing brokerage services without a license: -Class A misdemeanor and fine of 4,000, or imprisonment in county jail for not more than 1 year -TREC may assess an administrative penalty of up to $5,000 per day for violation of the license act by any person, either licensed or unlicensed. If TREC assesses a penalty, a license holder has 30 days to pay the penalty Real Estate Trust Recovery Account: -This fund was created to pay aggrieved parties who win an uncollectable judgment from an agent/broker. An aggrieved party may collect treble damages up to $50,000 per lawsuit and up to $100,000 per license number -The account is funded by taking $10 out of every applicant's or renewing licensee's fees. In addition, all fines levied by TREC fund this account which is invested in safe securities like T-Bills and Notes -If the fund ever falls below $1 million, TREC can assess all licensees $10 or a pro rata share to bring the balance up to $1.7 million. If the balance is above $3.5 million on January 1st, TREC reduces the value to $3.5 million by flushing the excess into the General Fund of Texas where the Texas Legislature spends it.