To fill out the TXR-1501 Residential Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement, work through the numbered sections in order and pay closest attention to five fields you actually negotiate: the market area, the term, the broker’s fee, the protection period, and whether you consent to intermediary status. The rest of the form is standard language you should read but do not fill in. The form itself is proprietary to the Texas Association of REALTORS® and is not available for public download; your broker or agent provides it, usually through a digital platform like Dotloop or zipForms. Ask for a blank copy by email before your sit-down if you want to review it first. Its full title is “Residential Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement (Long Form).”
What to Decide Before You Start Filling It In
Four decisions drive the form. Where do you actually want to search? How long do you want the exclusive relationship to run? What fee are you agreeing to pay the broker? And are you comfortable with the broker’s firm representing both sides if one of their listings comes up?
Have your answers roughed out before you open the document. The blanks are short, but each one binds you.
Section 1: Parties
Enter the full legal names of the client (you) and the brokerage firm, plus your address, phone, and email. The broker named here is the firm, not the individual agent showing you houses. Confirm that the brokerage name matches the entity licensed with TREC. A mismatch can cause trouble later if a commission question arises.
Sections 2 and 3: Appointment and Definitions
Section 2 grants the broker the exclusive right to act as your agent for acquiring property in the market area you’ll define in Section 3C. Section 3 defines the terms used throughout the form. “Acquire” means purchase or lease. “Closing” in a purchase is the date legal title transfers to you; in a lease, it’s the date a binding lease is signed. “Property” covers MLS-listed homes, for-sale-by-owner properties, and new construction. There are no blanks to fill in here, but read it so you know what you’re agreeing to.
Section 3C: Market Area
This is where you draw the geographic box around the exclusivity. You can define it by property address, subdivision, city, county, zip code, or a combination. Be deliberate. Writing “Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex” means you cannot use a different broker anywhere in that region for the entire term. Most buyers do better by limiting the market area to the specific cities or counties they actually plan to search. If your plans shift later, you can amend.
Section 4: Term
Fill in a start date and an end date. The form specifies 11:59 p.m. on the end date. No law sets a required length, but three to six months is common. A shorter term gives you an exit if the fit isn’t right; a longer term gives the broker more reason to invest time in your search. The term must have an actual expiration date; it cannot be left open-ended.
Sections 5 and 6: Obligations
Section 5 commits the broker to use best efforts to help you find and acquire property, assist in negotiations, and comply with the agreement. Nothing to fill in, but read it. Section 6 is your side: you agree to work exclusively through this broker, inform other agents or sellers that you already have exclusive representation, and cooperate with the terms. Touring a home with a different agent and then buying it can trigger a commission obligation to your original broker.
Section 7: Broker’s Compensation
This is the financial core of the form and where most of the negotiation happens.
7A: The Fee
Enter the broker’s fee as either a percentage of the sales price or a flat dollar amount for purchases, and separately for leases. The amount must be specific; you cannot write “whatever the seller offers.” A typical range runs from 2% to 3% of the purchase price, but no law sets the rate, and the form itself states that broker commissions are fully negotiable.
7B: Who Pays
The broker first seeks compensation from the seller or landlord. If the seller pays less than the agreed fee, you owe the difference. Agreed fee of 2.5% with a seller contribution of 1.5% at closing leaves you paying the remaining 1%. Compensation is earned when you sign a purchase contract or lease (or if a party breaches), and it becomes payable at closing.
If you’re using a VA loan, veterans and active-duty service members can pay the buyer-broker fee directly as of April 2026, either out of pocket at closing or through a negotiated seller concession. The fee cannot be financed into the VA loan amount, and the VA may flag fees it considers unreasonable for the local market. FHA borrowers generally cannot roll the buyer-agent fee into the loan amount either, so plan for it as a closing cost or negotiate a seller concession within FHA limits.
7F: Protection Period
The protection period is the window after the agreement expires during which the broker is still owed the agreed commission if you buy or lease a property they showed you or identified during the term. You fill in the number of days. One version of the form pre-prints 10 days; brokers regularly push for 30 to 90. Keep it reasonable. If you sign a new representation agreement with a different broker during the protection period, the obligation to the first broker generally ends for properties the new broker identifies, though it can still apply to properties the original broker showed you.
Section 9: Intermediary Status
Section 9 is a choice between two boxes, and it matters. Under Texas law, a broker can act as an intermediary between both sides of a transaction only with written consent from both parties. This section is where you give or withhold that consent in advance.
Checking “Intermediary Status” means you consent up front. If a listing from your broker’s firm comes up, the broker can act as a go-between. They owe both sides honesty but cannot advocate for either: they cannot tell the seller you’d pay more than your offer, and they cannot tell you the seller would accept less than the asking price. The broker can appoint separate agents within the firm to each party, and those appointed agents can give advice and opinions during negotiations, which restores some of the advocacy.
Checking “No Intermediary Status” means that if your broker’s listing comes up, the broker must arrange for you to be represented by a different firm for that property. Most buyers check the intermediary box to keep options open. If split loyalties bother you, the no-intermediary option is cleaner.
Sections 10 and 11: Competing Clients and Confidentiality
Section 10 acknowledges that your broker may represent other buyers looking for similar properties. A firm with dozens of agents will inevitably have overlapping searches. There’s nothing to fill in; you’re agreeing this is acceptable.
Section 11 governs confidential information. What you share with your broker during the relationship stays confidential even after the agreement ends, unless you authorize disclosure or a court orders it. Your motivation for buying, your maximum budget, and personal financial details are all covered.
Signing and Getting Your Copy
Both you and the broker or an authorized representative of the brokerage must sign. Electronic signatures carry the same legal weight as ink under Texas law, so signing through a digital platform is valid. Once both signatures are in place, the agreement is binding. The start date in Section 4 controls when exclusive representation actually begins, which may not be the same as the signing date.
Ask for a fully executed copy immediately. You’ll want it if any question about the market area, commission rate, or protection period comes up later.
Ending the Agreement Early
The TXR-1501 does not include a unilateral cancellation right for the buyer. Ending it early requires mutual agreement. Send a written cancellation request to the broker of record or office manager, not just your individual agent, and ask for a signed mutual release. Two costs to watch:
- The protection period still applies to properties the broker identified during the agreement. Ask for a narrow, documented list of covered properties and try to negotiate a waiver.
- Some contracts allow the brokerage to recover out-of-pocket expenses like inspection reports they paid for on your behalf. Get written confirmation of a zero balance before signing the release.
If the broker refuses to release you, escalate to the office manager or broker-in-charge, or contact your local REALTOR® association about mediation through their ombudsman program.
The IABS Notice You Should Also Receive
The TXR-1501 has a required companion document: the Information About Brokerage Services notice. As of January 1, 2026, the mandatory version is IABS 1-2. Your agent must provide it before or at the time of your first substantive conversation about a specific property. The one-page notice describes how a broker can represent you (including as an intermediary), the duties owed to a client versus a non-client, and contact information for your agent, their supervisor, and their broker. If you haven’t received it by the time you sit down to sign the TXR-1501, ask for it.