Update on Team Advertising

An article reviewing the guidelines for team advertising appeared in the December 2005 issue of The Pennsylvania REALTOR®.  The article noted that the State Real Estate Commission had expressed an opinion that real estate teams should be named only with the name of a licensee.

At the January meeting of the State Real Estate Commission, the Commission adopted a revised version of its team advertising guideline that includes this interpretation.  According to the terms of the new guidelines, if a team is headed by a licensee with the name “John Smith,” the team could be called “The John Smith Team,” or “The Johnny Smith Team” (if ‘Johnny’ is a nickname registered with the Commission), but not “The Smith Team” or “The SOLD Team.”

The guideline also clarifies other aspects of team advertising, including which members of the team should be included in advertisements and which members may not be included. 

To get a copy of the new team advertising guidelines, go the the PAR Web site at www.parealtor.org.  Click on the Issues Resource Center and go to the Advertising Resources link.  For questions about team advertising, call the PAR Legal Hotline at 800-727-5345 from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m.