Growing Your Practice
When to Hire a Transaction Coordinator or Join a Team That Has One
Updated
Bottom line: Hire a transaction coordinator when steady closings leave file deadlines competing with appointments. Decide what to hand over first, because in Texas contract review stays with a license holder.
When is it time to hand off file work?
The signal is volume that keeps arriving. Every file brings the same run of work: deadlines, inspections, appraisals, calls with title and lenders, closing documents. Each hour spent there is an hour away from appointments, and appointments are where new production starts.
Steady volume also changes the price. RISMedia, in an October 2023 article by Bill Gassett, notes that an agent or broker who expects to use a coordinator often may be able to negotiate a lower fee per transaction.
So the question to put to your own calendar is whether the file work comes regularly enough to price as a standing cost.
What does a transaction coordinator cost?
RISMedia describes a few ways coordinators bill. In RISMedia's account, a flat fee per transaction runs from $300 to $1,000 or more, with the figure moving on several factors.
RISMedia also reports coordinators who take a share of the commission, typically 1% to 3% of it, and others who bill hourly at $25 to $50.
Run your own recent closings through each of those structures before you call anyone. The cheapest one on paper depends on your price points and on how much time your files take.
What can a coordinator do in Texas without a license?
The Texas Real Estate Commission does not define transaction coordinators or mention them anywhere in its rules and statutes. In TREC's description, coordinators typically take on the administrative side of a transaction, and for that work a license would not be required.
TREC's guidance on unlicensed assistants draws the line by task. An unlicensed assistant may set a showing appointment for the license holder who will show the property, but may not review a contract or facilitate a transaction, and under TREC Rule 535.4(f) soliciting listings belongs to license holders alone.
The risk reaches the employer too. TREC states that a person who conducts brokerage activity without a license commits a Class A misdemeanor, and so does the broker or sales agent who employs that person, with a fine up to $4,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
If the coordinator you hire is a licensed sales agent and the work crosses into brokerage activity, even by accident, TREC says that agent needs written authorization from their sponsoring broker first and must stay inside its scope. TREC also points out that holding an active Texas license is often the simplest way to lower the risk of unlicensed brokerage activity.
What gets handed over first?
Start with the dated, repeatable work: timelines, scheduling inspections and appraisals, keeping title and the lender moving, assembling closing documents, and status updates back to you.
Before any of it goes to an unlicensed coordinator, check it against TREC's line. Reviewing the contract and facilitating the transaction stay with a license holder, and so does soliciting listings.
What does a team that already has a coordinator supply?
On Houston Properties Team, transaction coordination is part of the administrative back-office support we provide. In that area our support team manages timelines and deadlines, coordinates inspections and appraisals, works with title companies and lenders, monitors contract compliance, handles commission disbursement agreements, compiles and submits closing documents, prepares final closing statements, and keeps you posted on where each transaction stands.
Transaction coordination is one of six areas the support team covers. The others are client management and database support, listing preparation and management, content and marketing, email and communication, and client acquisition and lead conversion. In that last area the team sets showing appointments and audits buyer and listing documents.
For an experienced agent, our 30/60/90 day plan opens ISA appointments after the first 30 days, and in the next 30 days you meet each week with your Squad Leader and the Success Team to clear bottlenecks. When you are away, the Success Team keeps operations running and a teammate on your squad covers your clients.
Should you hire one or join a team that has one?
A coordinator you hire takes the file work and leaves the rest of your desk as it was. A team can add appointments set by its ISAs, a mentor, and coverage when you step away, alongside the coordination.
Price the RISMedia fee structures against your own closings, ask any team what its support staff does on a file and who on that staff holds a license, and compare the two on what each one takes off your week.
Filed in The team, for agents who are growing.
Questions & answers
What do Houston agents ask about this?
When should a real estate agent hire a transaction coordinator?
Hire one when your closings arrive steadily enough that deadlines, inspections, appraisals, title and lender calls, and closing paperwork start competing with appointments. Regular volume also helps on price. RISMedia notes that an agent or broker who plans to use a coordinator frequently may be able to bargain for a lower per-transaction fee. In Texas, TREC keeps contract review, facilitating a transaction and soliciting listings with a license holder, so plan the handoff around that line.
Start with the dated, repeatable work on each file, then price it before you hire. RISMedia describes flat fees, a share of the commission and hourly billing as the common ways coordinators charge, so run your own recent closings through each one. Check every task against TREC's guidance before it leaves your desk. Under that guidance, an unlicensed assistant may book a showing for the license holder who is going to show the property. It does not let that assistant review a contract or facilitate a transaction. If you would rather have coordination without hiring, Houston Properties Team provides transaction coordination as part of its administrative back-office support.
How much does a transaction coordinator cost?
RISMedia, in an October 2023 article by Bill Gassett, describes three common structures. RISMedia puts flat fees at $300 to $1,000 or more per transaction, depending on several factors. RISMedia reports that commission-based coordinators typically take 1% to 3% of the commission, and that hourly coordinators charge $25 to $50. RISMedia also notes that an agent who uses a coordinator often may be able to negotiate a lower fee per file.
Put your own last year of closings through each structure before you talk to anyone. A flat fee and a commission share can land far apart depending on your price points, and hourly billing depends on how much time your files actually take. Ask any coordinator what the fee covers on a file: deadlines, inspection and appraisal scheduling, title and lender contact, closing documents and status updates. Then check each of those tasks against what TREC allows an unlicensed person to do.
Does a transaction coordinator need a Texas real estate license?
TREC says its rules and statutes neither define nor mention transaction coordinators. In TREC's view, coordinators typically do administrative work on a transaction, and for that work they would not be required to hold a license. The condition matters. TREC says a licensed sales agent who engages in brokerage activity while providing coordinator services, even by accident, must first get written authorization from their sponsoring broker and act only within that authorization.
TREC also says that holding an active Texas license is often the simplest way to reduce the risk of unlicensed brokerage activity and the discipline that can follow it. The line sits at the task, not the job title. Under TREC's guidance on unlicensed assistants, reviewing a contract or facilitating a transaction stays with a license holder, and TREC Rule 535.4(f) reserves soliciting listings for license holders. Before you hire, ask the coordinator whether they hold a license and which tasks they plan to take on.
What can an unlicensed assistant or coordinator do on my files in Texas?
TREC lets an unlicensed assistant set up a showing for the license holder who is going to show the property. TREC says that assistant cannot review a contract or facilitate a transaction, and TREC Rule 535.4(f) reserves soliciting listings for license holders. TREC also says the employer carries risk: a broker or sales agent who employs someone doing brokerage work without a license commits a Class A misdemeanor, as does that person.
TREC sets the penalty for that Class A misdemeanor at a fine of up to $4,000, confinement in jail for up to one year, or both. TREC's guidance gives examples on each side of the line rather than a complete list, so treat any task near contract terms, negotiation or listing solicitation as a question to settle before you hand it over. If the person you hire holds a sales agent license and their coordinator work crosses into brokerage activity, TREC requires written authorization from their sponsoring broker first.
Does Houston Properties Team have a transaction coordinator, and what does it do on a file?
Yes. Transaction coordination is part of the administrative back-office support Houston Properties Team provides. On a file, the support team manages timelines and deadlines, coordinates inspections and appraisals, works with title companies and lenders, monitors contract compliance, handles commission disbursement agreements, compiles and submits closing documents, prepares final closing statements, and updates you on each transaction's status.
Transaction coordination and compliance is one of six areas the support team covers. In the client acquisition and lead conversion area, the team also sets appointments for property showings and audits buyer and listing documents. For an experienced agent, the 30/60/90 day plan opens ISA appointments after the first 30 days. In the following 30 days you meet weekly with your Squad Leader and the Success Team to clear bottlenecks. When you are away, the Success Team keeps operations running and a teammate on your squad covers your clients.