I’m Robbie English, REALTOR and Broker at Uncommon Highland Lakes Realty. People search for a “Highland Lakes real estate broker” without always knowing what that word actually means under Texas law, or how it’s different from a standard agent. It’s worth explaining, because it changes who’s legally on the hook for your transaction.
What a broker’s license actually requires in Texas
Every real estate license in Texas starts the same way: as a sales agent working under a sponsoring broker. To become a broker, that agent has to log at least four years of active, licensed experience within the five years before applying, then complete roughly 900 additional hours of education on top of the standard sales agent coursework, including a 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course and, as of a rule change that took effect January 1, 2026, a required Broker Responsibility course. After that, the state requires a separate broker licensing exam through the Texas Real Estate Commission, distinct from the salesperson exam.
A REALTOR designation is a different thing entirely. It just means a licensed agent or broker who’s also a member of the National Association of REALTORS and agrees to its code of ethics. You can hold any combination of the three, and none of them substitute for the others.
Who TREC actually holds accountable
A standard sales agent’s transactions run up through a sponsoring broker, someone the client may never meet, who is the one legally responsible if a contract or disclosure goes wrong. I don’t have that layer. As the broker at Uncommon Highland Lakes Realty, I’m the one TREC holds directly accountable for the contracts I write, the disclosures I review, and the negotiations I run. There’s no one above me signing off after the fact.
In practice, that means the person reviewing your offer, checking a seller’s disclosure for gaps, or pushing back in a negotiation is the same person who carries the legal responsibility for getting it right, not a supervisor reading the file after the fact.
Why that matters more in a market like this
The Highland Lakes isn’t a market with a lot of directly comparable sales to lean on. Waterfront lots on Kingsland’s stretch of Lake LBJ, hill-country acreage near Burnet, and golf-course property in Horseshoe Bay all price and negotiate differently, and a lot of that difference comes down to things a broker is trained to catch: septic and well documentation, flood plain and shoreline easements, and how a property’s value holds up against nearby development. That’s the kind of judgment call the additional broker-level coursework and years of transaction experience are built to prepare you for.
I also work as a national real estate speaker and instructor, training other agents on contract and negotiation strategy. That keeps me current on where deals typically break down, which is useful background, but the broker’s license itself is what puts the legal responsibility for your transaction on me directly rather than someone you’ve never spoken to.
What this means for you
If you’re buying, it means the person walking you through a contract, a survey exception, or a lending contingency is licensed and legally accountable for that advice, not relaying it from someone else. If you’re selling, it means pricing strategy, disclosure review, and offer negotiation are handled directly by the broker on your listing, not handed down through layers.
I’m not suggesting an agent without a broker’s license can’t do good work. Plenty do. But it’s worth knowing, before you sign anything, exactly whose name is legally attached to your transaction and what that person had to do to earn that responsibility.
Have questions about buying or selling in the Highland Lakes? Reach out to me at Uncommon Highland Lakes Realty and let’s talk through your situation.
