Special Provisions

10/07/2026

💧 In case you missed it…

The recording is now available from the Texas REALTORS® webinar on the new Seller’s Disclosure about Groundwater and Surface Water Rights (TREC 61-0).

TREC Broker-Lawyer Committee Co-Chair John George joined Texas water-law attorney Brian Sledge for a discussion moderated by Texas REALTORS® attorney Cori Conner about the new form and the TREC contract language that determines when it is required.

👉 Watch it here:

What every REALTOR® needs to know about TREC's new water disclosure form Seller's Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights. Texas water law attorney Brian Sledge and TREC Broker-Lawyer Committee Co-Chair and real estate attorney John George, both involved in drafting the form cover whe...

10/06/2026

🥊 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 🥊

The fight over Clear Cooperation just got real, and one of the nation’s largest MLSs is going on the offensive in a new federal lawsuit filed yesterday against Compass, asking the court to declare its Clear Cooperation rules lawful.

At the center of it is a pretty simple question:

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗟𝗦?

CRMLS says no. Its position is basically: you can keep a listing private, but once you market it publicly, you have to share it with the cooperative.

Compass says sellers should be able to publicly market office-exclusive listings without their agents getting fined.

A few interesting nuggets from the complaint:

• CRMLS says it issued only 89 Clear Cooperation fines in 2025 out of more than 271,000 listings.

• CRMLS calls public marketing while withholding the listing from the MLS “free-riding.”

• CRMLS argues the alternative could lead to fragmented listing data, less transparency, and fewer listings being available to all buyers and brokers.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Instead of waiting to defend another antitrust lawsuit, an MLS is asking a court to declare its Clear Cooperation rules lawful.

You can download CRMLS’s complaint here:

https://go.crmls.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-10-05_Complaint-with-Exhibits-S.D.N.Y.-26-cv-08796-dckt-000001_000-filed.pdf

🥊🍿 And here we go... 🍿🥊

09/25/2026

💧 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗖 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺. 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲. 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

On 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟱𝘁𝗵, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟮:𝟬𝟬–𝟭:𝟬𝟬 𝗽.𝗺., Special Provisions’ founder and TREC Broker-Lawyer Committee Co-Chair John George will join Texas water-law attorney Brian Sledge for a Texas REALTORS® webinar moderated by Texas REALTORS® attorney Cori Conner.

They’ll be discussing the new 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 (𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗖 𝟲𝟭-𝟬) and the new TREC contract language that determines when the disclosure is required.

And they’re going beyond simply walking through the form.

💧 When is the disclosure actually required?
💧 Does being in a groundwater conservation district trigger it?
💧 What about a capped well or a dry stock tank?
💧 What if the property gets its water from a neighbor’s well?
💧 What are “groundwater rights” and “surface water rights”?
💧 What happens if a required disclosure isn’t delivered?
💧And so much more!

In other words, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀. 🦆💧

👉 Register here:
https://texasrealtors.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Sk1R6QH1TeGYPDqDoBQQ8Q

08/28/2026

RESCHEDULED DUE TO WEATHER!!!

NEW DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED

Join Us! We will be in Mont Belvieu, TX, presenting for HAR Eastside REALTOR Connection next week, Wednesday, September 2nd. There are two opportunities for CE credit.

HAR Eastside REALTOR Connection Meeting
Presentation starts at 8:30 am - Registration Required via the QR Code Below

Contract Drama 1 Hour CE - QR Code Below
Eagle Point Golf Course
12440 Eagle Point Drive
Mont Belvieu, Texas 77523

2 Hour CE after lunch on 9/2 @11 am - Link Below
Seller Edition, Course No. 37647-RECE

https://www.specialprovisions.com/course/seller-edition-course-for-har-eastside-realtor-connection?fbclid=IwY2xjawT-Z-VwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTNmSVpFcVhOZHBMRXJ0UnRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeDp1aJkqKj8Sl7VIuFct6fslD_TBwZ73n2ViSzf0zknvbLmttMNGP6CT7RNo_aem_e-ptELG-zfCujPbPEGsSaQ

08/19/2026

🚨 BREAKING: The NAR Settlement Survives Its Appeal. ⚖️🏠

For anyone hoping the NAR settlement changes might disappear on appeal, the Eighth Circuit just delivered two very important words:

“We affirm.”

Translation: The settlement remains in place, and so do the practice changes brokers and agents have spent the last two years getting used to.

The appeal challenged everything from the nationwide scope of the settlement and its treatment of buyers and sellers to the $333 million attorneys’ fee award. The Eighth Circuit rejected the challenges and affirmed.

So, for brokers and agents, the takeaway is pretty simple: Keep doing what you’re doing. Written buyer agreements, the MLS compensation restrictions, negotiable commissions, and the other settlement-related practice changes are still with us.

We break down what the decision actually means for brokers and agents in a little more detail here:

👉 www.specialprovisions.com/blog/the-nar-settlement-survives-appeal

Finally, if 35 pages of federal appellate analysis sounds like your idea of a relaxing evening, we respect your questionable life choices. You can download the opinion from our blog post. And we'll love you for it! ❤️⚖️

08/13/2026

“Where do I put this in the contract?!”

If you’ve worked in real estate long enough, you’ve probably said that more than once. 😂

So, we’re curious:

👉 What clauses, forms, or documents do you wish your CLIENTS had access to?

Think about the situations that come up in a transaction where a buyer or seller needs something that just… doesn’t exist. An agreement. A notice. An acknowledgment. Instructions. A disclosure. A document addressing some weird situation that somehow keeps happening.

And brokers, we want to hear from you too:

👉 What forms or documents do you wish you had for YOUR BROKERAGE?

Agent agreements. Policies. Notices. Acknowledgments. Operational documents. Client documents. Or that one form you’ve cobbled together three different ways because you’ve never found exactly what you need.

Don’t just tell us the name of the form. Tell us the problem you wish it solved.

No idea is too niche. In fact, the weird ones may be our favorites. 🤓

Drop yours in the comments. 👇 And if you have a great idea but don’t want to share it publicly, send us a DM. We’d love to hear it.

08/07/2026

💵 When is $1 worth a whole lot more than $1?

When it’s extending an option period!

If the parties extend the option period using the TREC Amendment, don’t put $0 for the additional option fee. TREC has rightfully taken the position in disciplinary orders that at least nominal consideration is required for the extension.

Here’s the interesting part: Texas case law says a written option may still be enforceable when it recites nominal consideration even if that nominal amount was never actually paid. So, “$1” and “$0” can be legally very different animals. 🐒

But don’t confuse that with the original option fee in the TREC contract. That fee has an express deadline, and the contract says time is of the essence.

Translation: Absent ratification by the seller, a late original option fee payment means the buyer does not have the unrestricted right to terminate.⏰

Contracts are picky like that. Sometimes one dollar matters. Sometimes one second matters. ⚖️

07/08/2026

📣 Registration is officially open for TREC’s 2027-2028 Broker Responsibility Instructor Training!

This is the required instructor training for anyone who plans to teach the new Broker Responsibility course beginning in 2027.

John G. George Jr. and Avis Wukasch are teaching the courses again this year.🙌 They are backed by the amazing team at TREC who drafted the materials and organized all the classes, including Vanessa Burgess, Summer Mandell, Jennifer Wheeler, Jennifer Grube, and many others. In other words, the course has a lot of very smart fingerprints on it!

Dates:
➡️ San Antonio: September 15th
➡️ Irving: October 28th
➡️ Fort Worth: October 29th
➡️ Houston: November 17th
➡️ Austin: December 4th

Training runs 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Seats are limited, so register through TREC asap if you plan to attend.

Registration Link: https://registrations.trec.texas.gov/

06/27/2026

We’ll be in Waco On Tuesday!

This is FREE for primary and secondary members. Call 254-776-0210 to attend.

06/02/2026

🚨 TREC released the new contracts for voluntary use!!! 🚨

TREC has now posted the revised contract forms without redlines on its website for voluntary use until their effective date of July 1st, when they become mandatory.

👉 Access the new contracts here: https://www.trec.texas.gov/agency-information/contracts

The contracts may have changed, but one thing hasn't...

Reading the contract is still a surprisingly effective risk-management strategy. 😎

Also, it's more important than ever to seek quality education about the contracts, whether from us or one of the other other great education providers across Texas.

You can join us for one of our in-person or live contract classes taught by John George (Attorney and Co-Chair of the TREC Broker-Lawyer Committee) and Kiersten Crawford (Broker and member of the Texas REALTORS® Forms Task Force). 💯

We'll walk you through the changes, explain what they mean in the real world, and help you avoid the mistakes that happen when someone says, "I thought that's what the contract said." 🤦‍♂️📄