Ask Texas REALTOR®

Q   I know real estate forms are published by several groups. Why do some have borders and more than one number on them?

A   ATREC promulgates 30 forms that cover most of the Texas residential contracts and addenda. The TAR forms library includes those 30 forms and 83 additional forms not published by TREC. TAR does not publish competing versions of any TREC forms except for the Seller’s Disclosure Notice, which is also published by a few local associations.

TAR categorizes its entire forms library by attaching control numbers to the forms. For example, residential listings are in the 1100 series; buyer-representation agreements are in the 1500 series; and residential contracts are in the 1600 series. Thus, TREC forms from the TAR forms library carry a TREC number and a TAR number.

There is an easy way to distinguish between a TAR and TREC form: At the top of the first page, TAR forms have the TAR logo and name; TREC forms state "promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC)" and also use a border around the entire text on each page.

Members can find the entire TAR forms library online in the Forms section of TexasRealtors.com, www.texasrealtors.com/web/63.

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