Your Comments on Option-Fee and Earnest-Money Delivery, Marketviewer, and CE Exemptions

February 01, 2019

REALTOR® feedback

A post on the Advice for REALTORS® blog about when option fees and earnest money should be delivered generated dozens of comments from members. While some wondered why the rules couldn’t be changed to streamline the delivery process, Alex Andrikos said that it makes sense to keep the two things separate. “There isn’t anything the seller can default on that would make the money revert to the buyer, so the seller should be paid the money directly, and quickly, since the buyer’s option starts right away.” Scott McDonald pointed out that REALTORS® are “supposed to put the seller’s needs above all others—including our own.”

Crystal Blake commented on a blog post about the MarketViewer data tool exclusively for members of Texas REALTORS® that she would like to see data from more neighborhoods. While there are hundreds of neighborhoods represented in MarketViewer, information is displayed only for geographic areas that provide data to the information sources used by MarketViewer. Neighborhoods must average at least five sales per month to show up in the data. Members of Texas REALTORS® can access the MarketViewer dashboard at texasrealestate.com/marketviewer.

Another post about brokers who are exempt from TREC’s mandatory broker-responsibility course—and other CE requirements—prompted questions from many brokers who had not heard of the ability for brokers to exempt themselves. That exemption applied only to eligible brokers who applied for the grandfathered exemption in October 1991.

Legal Disclaimer

Texas REALTORS® provides content through various online platforms, including this blog. By interacting with any of our blog posts, you agree to comply with the following terms and conditions:

a. You will not post any defamatory, discriminatory, libelous, threatening, vulgar, sexually explicit, abusive, profane, rude, or obscene content (including comments);
b. You will not use our blog posts or posted content to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory; and
c. You will not post content or take any action on our blog posts that infringes someone else’s rights or otherwise violates the law.
d. You will not post any information intended to sell or advertise a business, product, or service.

Texas REALTORS®, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to remove any content you have uploaded, posted, or submitted onto any of our blog posts if we believe that it violates these terms or conditions.

The material provided here is for informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be considered as legal advice for your particular matter. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Applicability of the legal principles discussed in this material may differ substantially in individual situations.

While Texas REALTORS® has used reasonable efforts in collecting and preparing materials included here, due to the rapidly changing nature of the real estate marketplace and the law, and our reliance on information provided by outside sources, Texas REALTORS® makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee of the accuracy or reliability of any information provided here. Any legal or other information found on this page or at other sites to which we link, should be verified before it is relied upon.