Broker Support and Supervision
What a Texas Broker Owes a Producing Agent Between Deals
Updated
Bottom line: The Texas Real Estate Commission ties supervision to your experience and ability and wants it described in a written agreement. Ask for the cadence there, then hold the broker to it.
What does a Texas broker owe you once you are sponsored?
Under the Texas Real Estate Commission's guidance for license holders, your broker stays responsible for the authorized acts of the sales agents it sponsors.
The same guidance gives the broker a set of affirmative duties. Among them are written policies, record keeping, advising and training agents, approving their advertising and responding to them.
None of those duties is tied to an open contract. Advising, training and responding apply in a quiet month as much as in a busy one.
Does the broker have to be the person you hear from?
The Commission says a broker is not required to supervise sponsored sales agents directly.
The broker can hand that responsibility to another person, provided that person has the experience and expertise to supervise properly under the law.
So the regular contact you get may come from a delegate. Ask who it is and what experience they bring to the role.
So how often should you hear from your broker?
The Commission links the details of supervision to the sales agent's experience and ability. It says those details belong in a written agreement between you and your sponsoring broker.
That agreement should also recognize that the broker answers for your actions. It is the natural place to set a frequency.
For a producing agent, write down how often you will meet, who runs those meetings and what they cover. A schedule you both signed is easier to hold than a promise made over coffee.
What does contact between deals look like on Houston Properties Team?
Experienced agents start on their own version of the team's plan for an agent's first 90 days. It sets weekly targets for calls or conversations and monthly targets for appointments.
After the first 30 days, you gain access to appointments our ISAs set.
In the 30 days after that, you meet each week with your Squad Leader and the Success Team. The purpose of that meeting is to find and remove whatever is slowing your production.
Why does the gap between deals matter more in a slow market?
Mike DelPrete reported that transactions fell 19 percent in 2023 from the year before.
Mike DelPrete also wrote that in that downturn, the pull of a low-fee brokerage was simple: agents keep more of their commission.
A slower year means longer stretches between closings. The advising and training the Commission lists happen in those stretches, so weigh them beside the split.
Filed under the team.
Questions & answers
What do Houston agents ask about this?
Does my Texas broker have to approve my advertising?
Yes. The Texas Real Estate Commission lists approving advertising for sales agents among a broker's affirmative duties. It also says your broker must keep written policies and procedures, maintained on a current basis, so that each sponsored sales agent follows its advertising rules. For an agent whose listings keep going out, advertising review is a standing reason to hear from your brokerage, deal or no deal.
Ask to see those written policies before you sign. Ask how a review fits around your schedule. On our team, the support team drafts and proofreads property descriptions and prepares brochures and flyers for your listings. You also get support from the team's social media team. The written-policy duty stays with the broker, whoever designed the piece.
Do experienced agents get a mentor on Houston Properties Team?
Yes. Every agent on the team has a designated mentor through the Squad Leader Program, our formal mentorship program. That includes agents who arrive with production already on the books. Your mentor gives guidance on strategy and keeps you accountable and on track toward the goals you set. Between closings, your mentor is the person checking your progress.
You can also shadow client appointments and live deals, with hands-on coaching and real-time feedback from your mentor. That is most useful when you are adding a kind of work you have not run before. There is also a defined path from Associate Member to Partner Member, so the mentoring has somewhere to lead.
Do agents at brokerages with more support close more deals?
HousingWire compared 20 large firms for 2022, in an analysis by Diana Zaya. HousingWire found agents in the traditional model closed eight deals per agent on average, against four in the flat-fee model. HousingWire listed extensive support, training, mentorship and marketing resources among the traditional model's pros. Read the two as a pattern across firms, not as proof that support alone produced the deals.
HousingWire also found traditional brokerages lost sides faster in that period. HousingWire attributed that in part to agents leaving over high costs, while flat-fee firms held up better. In HousingWire's numbers, each model has a case. For a producing agent, the useful question is narrower: what will the brokerage do in your quiet weeks?
What does the team keep doing with my database when I have nothing in escrow?
Our support team cleans and updates client databases and processes home valuation request alerts. It tracks client engagement, updates contact details across platforms, organizes drip campaign lists and oversees past client outreach. It also manages new client notes and feedback. Three client newsletters go out each month to keep your sphere of influence engaged, whether or not you have a file open.
You also have a library of 2,837 pre-written email templates covering every stage of working with a client. When a lead comes in, the support team monitors it for immediate follow-up and writes a follow-up plan. It sends the lead emails and texts and sets showing appointments. It tracks conversions and reports progress to you. That leaves your hours for appointments rather than list upkeep.
What do clients say on Google?
Great experience! We’ve now purchased three homes through Houston Properties (and sold two!) and each time the service has been fantastic from start to finish. They are professionals when it comes to preparing a home for sale, every time we’ve sold the home for more than expected.