PDX Broker’s Commercial Insights: Article No. 10

Posting ads on Craigslist is pretty standard today when you want to get rid of or buy furniture, find a job, get a random new work out partner, or any other number of things. One thing that Craigslist has become very popular for is finding a new residential home or a commercial location for a business. With the popularity of Craigslist today making it one of the most visited websites on the web, Craigslist users have reported the company enforcing its Terms of Use more strictly than ever before. One group of users that has used the website with changing trends in the market is Residential Realtors and Commercial Brokers, and many of them are NOT posting legally. This article outlines the criteria required when placing ads on Craigslist for Realtors and Brokers alike, both by Craigslist Terms of Use, but also by the Oregon Real Estate Agency.

I know you have seen them; the quick Craigslist posting stating a brief property description, perhaps a few photos, and then a name and number. While this might be legit if the person posting it is not a licensed Commercial Broker or Residential Realtor, it is not legal if the case be they are. If it happens that the person posting this sort of incomplete advertisement is a licensed Oregon Broker or Realtor then this person can be flagged and removed, if not also reported to the Oregon Real Estate Agency.

An “advertisement” or “advertising” is considered all forms of representation, promotion and solicitation by any means for any purpose related to professional real estate activity. This is including, without limitation, advertising by mail; telephone, cellular telephone, and telephonic advertising; the internet, E-mail, electronic bulletin boards and other similar electronic systems; business cards, signs, lawn signs, and billboards.

The main points that must be present to make any Craigslist advertising legal for Oregon Real Estate licensees are the following contents (please note there are many other points to this, but these are in my opinion the main ones to take note of):

a. Identifiable as advertising by a real estate licensee;

b. Truthful and non-deceptive or misleading;

c. Not state or imply that the real estate broker or property manager associated with a principal real estate broker is the person responsible for operating the real estate brokerage or is a sole practitioner or principal broker;

d. Not state or imply that the licensee is qualified or has a level of expertise other than as currently maintained by the licensee;

e. Must be done with the written permission of the property owner (s) or owner(s’) authorized agent;

f. Use the licensee’s licensed name or a common derivative of the licensee’s first name and the licensee’s licensed last name.

In addition to these regulations the licensed name or registered business name of the principal real estate broker, sole practitioner real estate broker, or property manager must be prominently displayed, immediately noticeable, and conspicuous in all advertising. Any advertising that goes out must have record that prior approval by that licensee’s principal real estate broker had been granted and must be available to the agency upon request.

So next time you real estate licensed individuals think about posting a simple advertisement on Craigslist, make sure you have all your facts straight first. It would really suck to get a nasty call and possibly fine or worse just because you didn’t post something “legally” according to the Oregon Real Estate Agency.

END

Sources: Stat. Auth.: ORS 696.385, Stats. Implemented: ORS 696.020 & 696.301(1), (4), Hist.: REA 1-2002, f. 5-31-02, cert. ef. 7-1-02; REA 1-2003 (Temp), f. 2-27-03, cert. ef. 2-28-03 thru 8-27-03; REA 3-2003, f. 7-28-03, cert. ef. 8-1-03; REA 1-2005, f. 5-5-05, cert. ef. 5-6-05; REA 3-2006 (Temp), f. 12-28-06, cert. ef. 1-1-07 thru 5-29-07; REA 3-2007, f. & cert. ef. 6-29-07; REA 1-2008 (Temp), f. & cert. ef. 1-18-08 thru 7-16-08; REA 2-2008, f. 6-12-08, cert. ef. 7-1-08. Norris & Stevens, Inc.

This article is part of the ‘PDX Broker’s Commercial Insights’ series for The Portlander. The column is written by PDX_Broker, a Portlander who works as a Commercial Real Estate Broker in Downtown, Portland. PDX_Broker specializes in Retail Properties and does both Landlord and Tenant representation throughout the Portland Metro and SW Washington areas. She writes frequently about the Commercial Real Estate Industry, Commercial Businesses, and Retail Owners in the Portland area.