ADVERTISING
- The sponsoring broker’s name shall be at least equal in size, or larger, than the team name or that of the individual licensee.
- Advertising now has been extended to include social media and digital forums.
- “Blind advertisement” is expanded to include electronic ads that do not provide a direct link to all the required disclosures.
- Licensees with a managing broker license may now advertise themselves to be a managing broker.
- The designated managing broker (which is now a defined term in the Act) must identify themselves as such in any ads they place.
TEAMS
- “Teams” are now defined as any two or more licensees who provide real estate brokerage services, represent themselves to the public as being part of a team or group and are identified by a team name different than their sponsoring broker’s name.
- The Act previously prohibited any advertising that is false, deceptive, or misleading in any way. The rewrite includes misleading terms that can no longer be used.
- Team names can no longer include the following misleading terms, such as “company”, “realty”, “real estate”, “agency”, “associates”, “properties”, or “property.”
PAPERLESS PRACTICE & TECHNOLOGY
- IDFPR is moving away from paper licenses and sponsor cards.
- A licensee no longer has to carry a pocket card but rather, they need to be able to prove they are licensed by carrying an electronic version of their license.
- Electronic mail may be used to send a notice of renewal to a sponsoring broker of all their sponsored licensees, serve a citation or provide notice of investigations and a hearing to the accused and their designated managing broker and sponsoring broker.
- A physical record required to be maintained shall be securely stored and made accessible to the Department at the sponsoring broker’s principal office.
- Electronic records shall be securely stored in their original format and made accessible to the Department.
LICENSING & MANAGEMENT
- The age limit has changed to allow broker licensees to be 18 years old.
- Pre-licensing hours are now reduced from 90 to 75 hours. Post-licensing broker education changes from 30 to 45 hours, divided into three 15-hour segments.
- The managing broker is now responsible for the oversight of the handling of earnest money for their new licensees, until their licensing requirements are fully met.
- Managing brokers are also now responsible for the oversight of the negotiation of contracts in the new broker’s real estate transaction until their licensing requirements are fully met.
CONSUMER PROTECTION & BUSINESS PRACTICES
- Discipline may be imposed for the following violations: cheating, compensation to an unlicensed person, failing to notify the Department of any criminal conviction, making a false statement of material fact on their application, not providing proof of sponsorship or termination of a licensee.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
- CE requirements have changed for this cycle! Before you take any CE classes, click here to view your requirements.