FRANCHISE NAMES NOT SUFFICIENT FOR YARD SIGNS

FRANCHISE NAMES NOT SUFFICIENT FOR YARD SIGNS

By Gary Isom, Executive Director of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission

Commission Regulation 10.5 states :
(a) A licensee may not advertise any property, including the licensee's own property, for sale or rent, or display a real estate sign without including in that advertisement or sign the name of the firm with whom that licensee is licensed.
(b) A principal broker and any persons licensed with said principal broker shall not advertise or otherwise conduct real estate brokerage business under any name other than the name in which the principal broker's license has been issued.
(c) In public advertising a principal broker shall be especially careful to present a true picture and should not permit licensees to use individual names or telephone numbers, unless the licensee's connection with the broker is obvious in the advertisement.

Franchise names alone are not sufficient for yard signs. If a Principal Broker, who belongs to a franchise known as ABC, applies for the name ABC Real Estate and is licensed in that manner, the yard signs used by persons licensed with that firm must include the name “ABC Real Estate”. Mere usage of the franchise name and/or logo does not comply with Commission Regulation 10.5. There are likely several supervising brokers working under the same franchise name so it is not obvious to which Principal Broker or Designated Broker the licensee is connected.

Principal Brokers and Designated Executive Brokers should look at their real estate license to determine whether or not all advertising done by their firm and licensees, including yard signs, includes the name of the broker’s firm.

 Principal Brokers and Designated Executive Brokers who have permitted licensees to advertise in a manner that is not compliant with Commission Regulation 10.5 should contact the Investigations section of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) immediately to remedy the activity. Principal Brokers and Designated Executive Brokers who learn that licensees in their firm are advertising in a noncompliant manner without their knowledge should report the activity to AREC.