# Tips for New Real Estate Agents in Texas: Your First Year

- Link: https://cleverrealtors.com/tips-to-become-a-real-estate-agent/
- Published: 2024-01-04T20:54:01-06:00
- Author: Hernan Romero

Updated October 2026. Passing the exam gets you a license. Your first year decides whether you build a business. These tips are for new Texas agents, and for anyone still deciding whether real estate is the right career. If you haven’t started yet, begin with how to become a real estate agent in Texas. 1. Choose your sponsoring broker for support, not just splits Your broker shapes your first year. Compare total costs (fees, splits, desk or technology charges), but also ask who answers your questions at 8 p.m., how contracts are reviewed, and how coaching works on your first transactions. TREC requires newer agents to receive coaching from an experienced license holder the first times they handle each new type of brokerage activity, so ask how that coaching is delivered. 2. Get your apprentice education done early Before your first renewal you must complete Sales Agent Apprentice Education: the 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course, 60 more qualifying hours, and 8 hours of TREC Legal Update I and II. Finishing these courses early makes you better at the job sooner and keeps your renewal from becoming a last-minute scramble. 3. Learn the forms and the rules you’ll use every week TREC promulgated contracts and addenda. Know them well enough to explain each paragraph in plain language. Written buyer agreements. Since January 1, 2026, Texas law requires a written agreement with a buyer before you show a home, including the compensation terms and the statement that compensation is negotiable. Information About Brokerage Services. Know when and how to provide it. Advertising rules. TREC regulates how license holders advertise, including how your broker is identified. 4. Pick a market you can explain Dallas–Fort Worth is big. Instead of trying to cover everything, learn a few areas deeply: school districts, commute routes, property tax rates, HOA patterns, and how homes there have been selling. Clients notice when you can explain why two similar homes ten miles apart are priced differently. 5. Build a simple, consistent lead plan Most new agents need several sources of business. Start with people who already know you, add one or two channels you can sustain (open houses, helpful local content, referrals from other professionals), and track every conversation in a CRM. Consistency beats a burst of activity followed by silence. 6. Communicate before clients have to ask Set expectations at the start: how you’ll update clients, how often, and what happens next. Quick, clear updates through inspections, appraisal, and closing are what clients remember and refer. 7. Treat it like a business from day one Most agents are paid as independent contractors. Budget for slow months, set money aside for taxes, and track your expenses. Talk with a tax professional about your situation. 8. Keep learning Markets, forms, and rules change. Use your continuing education as a chance to improve, and lean on your broker when a situation is new to you. Building your business with Clever Realtors Clever Realtors is a virtual brokerage in Dallas–Fort Worth with flat brokerage pricing for eligible transactions and hands-on coaching for activities that are new to you. See how it works. Keep learning Practical, Texas-specific guides from Clever Realtors. For AgentsJoin Clever Realtors Buying · Stage 01How to Choose a Buyer’s Agent in Texas Selling · Stage 02Choosing a Listing Agent See every step in our home buying guide and home selling guide.