Keep It Legal: 5 Tips to Remember
As you wrap up crafting your 2018 marketing plan, it’s a great time to brush up on the real estate regulations to ensure your advertising doesn’t land you in hot water with the real estate commission. There are many rules, but here are the top five biggies to remember:
- Brokerage name and direct phone number must be “conspicuously displayed” on all marketing pieces. That doesn’t mean tiny in the corner. It means that it must be easy for anyone viewing your advertising to quickly determine you are a ReeceNichols agent.
- And about that phone number — it has to be a brokerage-owned line. Your own direct office line works for this, as it’s a ReeceNichols number.
- Channel your inner Warren Buffet. He has many famous pieces of advice, but the one I’m thinking of in particular is this: maintain a sterling reputation by never doing something you wouldn't want to see reported on the front page of your local newspaper. In other words, don’t blog, tweet or post anything you’d be embarrassed for your friends, family and the entire world to see. Remember, anything online is in the public domain forever — even if you delete it later.
- It’s better to share, comment or link a service provider’s post instead of initiating the post on your page. That way, it’ll be clear to consumers that it’s not your created content.
- The Fair Housing Act, state statues, and the advertising rules of the Kansas Real Estate Commission and the Missouri Real Estate Commission are always applicable — regardless of the forum or medium used. The same rules that apply to a traditional paper flyer also apply to web-based content. If you are in any way talking about real estate, it’s likely the commission will consider your actions advertising, so always include broker name and phone number to be safe!
Curious about the specifics of what you need to list on each marketing piece or want more tips on blog posts? We’ve got it covered on the Help Site. Search “Quick Start Marketing Guide” and scroll down to the legal section. If all this gives you a headache, check out our ReeceNichols marketing pieces. Each marketing piece we create is already compliant and ready for you to customize!
