What Is Real Estate Document Preparation?
Real estate document preparation is filling out a contract, listing agreement, amendment or addendum only at the agent’s specific written direction. Your own template and your written direction set every term. We fill in the form exactly as instructed and send it back to you to review. The terms are yours, and so is every decision.
That’s the whole service. It’s a convenience only for existing transaction coordination and listing coordination clients of Freedom Real Estate Services, for the moments they can’t get to a computer: traveling, in a class, at a closing.
Table of Contents
▼Filling Out vs. Drafting: Why the Line Matters
“Document preparation” is what agents search for, so it’s what we call it. But it covers two very different things, and only one of them is ours to do.
- Filling out a form means putting the terms the agent chose into the blanks of a promulgated or association form. That’s administrative work.
- Drafting means deciding or writing the terms: what to offer, which addenda to use, how to word a special provision, what the client should agree to. That’s licensed activity, and it belongs to the agent.
In Texas, TREC is clear that an unlicensed person may not do anything that requires a license, and that doing so is a crime under The Real Estate License Act. Industry lists of what an unlicensed assistant may do include filling in contract forms at the licensee’s direction; the “may not” side includes negotiating, advising and reviewing contracts. We walk through the rules and sources in do you need a license to be a transaction coordinator in Texas. Other states have their own rules for unlicensed assistants; NAR keeps a state-by-state table.
“But I Have a License”
This is the part people miss. A real estate license doesn’t let you draft contracts for any agent who asks.
In Texas, a sales agent may do brokerage activity only while sponsored by a licensed broker and acting for that broker. “Agent” means agent of a broker. Everything a sales agent does in a licensed capacity, they do on behalf of their sponsoring broker. It’s why Law of Agency is one of the courses every Texas sales agent takes before getting licensed.
So it comes down to whose broker you’re under:
- Same broker. A licensed TC sponsored by the same broker as the agent is acting as a licensed agent of that broker, if the broker permits it.
- Different broker. A licensed TC whose license sits with another broker is an assistant on that agent’s file who happens to hold a license. The license doesn’t come with them. They fill out forms at the agent’s specific written direction, the same as anyone else.
TREC adds that a sales agent who engages in brokerage activity while providing TC services needs written authorization from their own sponsoring broker first, and has to stay within it.
Some TCs ignore this and draft for agents at other brokerages anyway. It’s a recipe for disaster for the TC, for the agent who relied on them, and for both brokers.
That line protects you, too. When the terms come from you in writing, there’s never a question about who decided what. Your file shows your direction and the form that matches it.
What We Won’t Do
Some callers are looking for a contract mill: someone to “write up a quick offer” or turn a phone call into a contract. We straighten that out on the phone every time, and we’ll never do it.
- No offers from a conversation. We need your direction in writing, by email or text, on every term.
- No guessing. If you leave a blank or forget something, we leave it blank and ask. You send it in writing, even if we already talked about it.
- No copying another deal. We don’t clone another client’s contract and swap a few names. Every form starts from your own template and this deal’s terms.
- No one-off requests from non-clients. Document preparation is only for agents we already work with on an ongoing basis.
- No suggesting terms. We don’t recommend prices, option periods, addenda or special provisions.
- No reviewing or interpreting. We don’t tell you what a provision means or whether it’s a good idea.
- No sending it out for you. The completed form comes back to you first. You review it, verify it, and send it on.
This is for the times you physically can’t get to your computer, not a way to skip deciding what goes in the contract.
How It Works
- Your template sets your standard terms. You give us your own template with the choices you make on every deal. It changes only when you tell us in writing.
- For each deal, you send the deal-specific terms in writing by email or text: parties, property, price, dates, and anything that differs from your template.
- We fill out the forms from your template and your direction, nothing else. Anything neither one covers stays blank, and we tell you which blanks are open.
- The forms come back to you to review, approve and send.
We act only in an administrative capacity.
Pricing
Document preparation is paid upfront. It’s a paid add-on for our ongoing clients, not a volume offering.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Listing Agreement | $75 |
| Earnest Money Contract | $75 |
| Miscellaneous Forms | $20 / form |
Amendments on Files Under TC Management
If we’re already managing your file under our transaction coordination services, amendments and addenda on that file are included at no extra charge. Same rule: you give us the terms in writing, we fill out the form.
The pricing above is for contracts and listing agreements that aren’t part of an active TC file.
The Forms Agents Send Us Most
These guides explain what each form does, its deadlines, and what to track once it’s signed. They’re written for Texas agents and TCs:
- The TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract, paragraph by paragraph
- The TXR-1101 listing agreement
- Third Party Financing Addendum
- Appraisal Addendum
- Sale of Other Property Addendum
- HOA addendum and resale certificate
- Lead-based paint addendum (TREC 56-0)
- Notice of Buyer’s Termination
- Release of Earnest Money
- Termination of Listing
What Document Preparation Is Not
It’s not transaction coordination. TC covers deadline tracking, document completeness checks, communication with title, the lender and the other agent, file organization and broker compliance. Document preparation is only filling out a form at your specific written direction.
It’s not broker compliance. Making sure your files meet your brokerage’s requirements is part of TC and listing coordination.
It’s not document review. Checking incoming documents for missing signatures, initials, blanks and dates is part of TC, and it’s a completeness check, not a review of the terms.
If you want the whole file handled, that’s transaction coordination. If you’re already a client and need a form filled out while you’re on a plane, that’s document preparation.
Getting Started
Document preparation is a service for our ongoing clients. It isn’t something you can call in for on a moment’s notice if you’re not a client. We need a working relationship with you first: we know your files, how you work, and your template before we fill out a form for you.
If you already work with us, email or text your TC with your direction and we’ll get it done.
If you’re not a client yet, start with transaction coordination or listing coordination. See pricing for everything we offer.
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