During my first six months as Legal Information Officer for the Real Estate Licensing Board, I have responded to dozens of your questions over the telephone and through the mail. Since the following questions have come up fairly frequently, I thought that they may be of interest to all licensees. If you desire further information concerning any of these questions, please feel free to contact me.

Q. Although I have a real estate license, can I still advertise the sale of my personal residence as being "FOR SALE BY OWNER"?

A. Yes. Licensing Board Rule .0105 requires that an advertisement reveal that a sale is broker-handled only when the broker is selling real estate that belongs to another person. When a broker or salesman is selling his own property, Rule .0105 does not apply. However, the Licensing Board strongly recommends that when a broker or salesman advertises the sale of his own property, he reveal that he is a licensed real estate broker or salesman. This will serve to eliminate the surprise consumers experience when they discover that the seller is a licensed broker or salesman and will put them on notice that the seller possesses special expertise in real estate matters.

Q. I have a real estate salesman's license. I have recently terminated my association with my previous supervising broker, and I am now looking for employment with a new supervising broker. While my license is temporarily inactive, may I receive payment from my previous broker for transactions I handled while associated with him?

A. Yes. Although Section 93A-6(a)(5) of the License Law prohibits a salesman from accepting a commission or other valuable consideration from any person other than his supervising or employing broker, the salesman can continue to receive compensation from a former broker for services performed while in that broker's employ.

Q. As a business broker, I know that I must have a real estate license to handle the sale of a business that will involve the sale of real estate. But must I also have a real estate license if the business will only involve the renegotiation of a lease?

A. Yes. The Real Estate Licensing Board maintains that if the sale of a business involves the transfer of an interest in real property, then the person handling the sale must have a real estate license. Therefore, since a leasehold is an interest in real property business broker who handles the sale of a business involving the transfer of a lease must have a real estate license.

Q. I am a licensed real estate broker working at a condominium and time-sharing development. Many property owners at this development have friends who might also be interested in purchasing units. May I offer to compensate these property owners for referring their friends to me, so long as the compensation is not conditioned upon a sale of the property?

A. No. Section 93A-6(a)(9) of the License Law makes it unlawful for real estate licensees to pay a commission or valuable consideration to any person for acts or services performed in violation of the Real Estate License Law. Since the referring of prospective purchasers of real estate to real estate brokers is an act for which a real estate license is required, it would be unlawful for a broker to pay a referral fee to an unlicensed person whether conditioned upon a sale or not.

Whenever you have a question concerning the Real Estate License Law or Licensing Board Rules, do not hesitate to contact me.