Q: I’m a broker of my own brokerage corporation, which currently handles only residential transactions. I want to set up a branch office to run the commercial side of my business. May I register a trade name for the branch office and continue to use the corporate name for my primary office?
A: No. All branch offices must have the same corporate or trade name as the primary office. Also, no individual, partnership or corporation may be registered under more than one trade name.
Q: Since real estate licensees are presumed to be transaction brokers, does that mean that licensees are no longer required to provide the Transaction Broker Notice to buyers and sellers whom the licensee intends to represent as a transaction broker?
A: Yes. The requirement to provide the Transaction Broker Notice expired July 1, 2008.
Q: I’m a broker and I manage residential property for a landlord. I’ve been told that the disclosure requirements of the “Brokerage Relationship Disclosure Act” don’t apply to rentals. Is this true?
A: Yes, this is true. The disclosure requirements of the “Brokerage Relationship Disclosure Act” don’t apply to the rental or leasing of real property unless, the law states: “an option to purchase all or a portion of the property improved with four or fewer residential units is given …”
Q: I’m a broker who was out of the office when a prospective buyer called me to see a home that is listed with another real estate brokerage company. This buyer wants to see the property immediately and wants me to represent him as a single agent. If I don’t have time to go back to the office to get the single agent relationship disclosure form, may I show the buyer the house and provide him with the single agent relationship disclosure form later?
A: No. Section 475.278(3)(b)1, Florida Statutes, provides that a written single agent relationship disclosure “must be made before, or at the time of, entering into a listing agreement or an agreement for representation or before the showing of property, whichever occurs first.”
Q: I expect to get a listing soon for a 15-acre parcel of agricultural property. Do the "brokerage relationship" disclosure notices of section 475.278, Florida Statutes, have to be provided in this type of listing?
A: No. According to subsection 475.278 (5) (a), Florida Statutes, the real estate licensee disclosure requirements of section 475.278 apply to all “residential sales.” 475.278 defines residential sales to include the sale of agricultural property of 10 acres or fewer.
Therefore, the disclosure requirements do not apply to a transaction involving the sale of more than 10 acres of agricultural property.
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