Advertising Real Estate-Related Products and Services

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dear Shannon:  I read your article last month, Disclose Any Fees Received From Recommending Real Estate Products or Services, and now I’m nervous about my situation and hope you can clarify.

I too am a broker and have developed a robust, interactive website that I use to both publicize my firm and to serve my customers. I’ve maintained positive business relationships with providers of real estate-related products and services including financial institutions, title insurance companies, home inspectors, mortgage brokers, insurance agencies, appraisers, exterminators, decorators, landscapers, moving companies and others. Given the volume of business my firm handles, several of these companies purchased banner advertisements on my website and some, including National Bank, include links in their banner ads to their own websites.

One of my buyers explored my website and clicked on National Bank’s link. Once at National Bank’s website, my buyer found a mortgage to his liking, completed the application process and qualified for a mortgage. In the meantime, I showed a property to my buyer several times, they decided it met their needs, made an offer and it was accepted by the seller.

After closing, my buyer had a housewarming attended by a friend, a website designer, who coincidentally, had been involved in developing my website. My buyer told the friend how helpful the information on my website had been and the friend told my buyer that each time a visitor to my website clicks on some of those links that I’m paid a fee. My buyer didn’t know this and mistakenly thought the links were to products and services that I was recommending. So, now I’m nervous that my buyer might file an ethics complaint for potential violation of Article 6. 

The way I see it, the advertisements for real estate-related products and services on my website are not recommendations or endorsements. I acknowledge that I collect a fee each time a visitor to my website clicked on certain links, regardless of whether the visitor chose to do business with the “linked to” entity or not. In some cases, I do recommend products and services, and, in some cases, I receive a financial benefit and in others I don’t.  However, in any case where I recommend a real estate-related product or service, I go out of my way to make it absolutely clear I’m making a recommendation, I spell out the basis for my recommendation and disclose, as required by the Code, the financial benefit or fee I might receive. Those banner advertisements on my website are simply that, advertisements. Have I done something wrong? I’m nervous.

Dear Nervous: Thanks for reading my articles and reaching out for clarification. Other laws and rules may apply, but my answer will focus on NAR’s Code of Ethics. Like the broker in my last article, you have advertising banners for real estate products or services on your website, you get paid a fee when certain links are clicked on by visitors to your website, you contend the banner advertisements are merely advertisements and not recommendations or endorsements. However, your situation sounds different, and I’m thinking you don’t need to be nervous.

Article 6 states: REALTORS® shall not accept any commission, rebate, or profit on expenditures made for their client, without the client’s knowledge and consent. When recommending real estate products or services (e.g., homeowner’s insurance, warranty programs, mortgage financing, title insurance, etc.), REALTORS® shall disclose to the client or customer to whom the recommendation is made any financial benefits or fees, other than real estate referral fees, the REALTOR® or REALTOR®’s firm may receive as a direct result of such recommendation. (Amended 1/99)

In relevant part, Article 6 requires Realtors when recommending real estate products or services to disclose to the customer to whom the recommendation is made, any financial benefits or fees received (other than real estate referral fees) from making such recommendation. While your situation is like the broker in my last article, it is different in important ways. For example, for your banner advertisements links don’t have a “Preferred Provider” heading or a message stating “These vendors provide quality goods and services. Please patronize them.” These messages sound like recommendations or endorsements. Your situation sounds different. You stated you collect a fee each time a visitor to your website clicked on certain links, regardless of whether or not the visitor chose to do business with the “linked to” entity. Further, you say in some instances you do recommend products and services to customers and sometimes receive a financial benefit from such recommendation, but not always. And you said when you do recommend a real estate-related product or service, you go out of your way to make it absolutely clear that it’s a recommendation, including spelling out the bases for your recommendation and the financial benefit or fee you might receive.

Where companies purchase banner advertisements on your website and some of these companies include links in their banner ads to their own websites, without anything further, seems like mere advertisements and not recommendations or endorsements. Although I can’t tell you what any particular professional standards hearing panel would decide on a case-by-case basis for any given case, this particular set of circumstances, without more, sounds unlikely to be found in violation of Article 6. The mere presence of real estate-related advertisements on your website does not constitute a ‘recommendation’ or ‘endorsement’ of those products or services. And the “click through” fee that you earn when visitors to your website linked to certain advertisers’ sites does not sound like the type of financial benefit or fee that must be disclosed under Article 6 and if this goes to a hearing, I would be surprised if you were found in violation of Article 6.

Inspired by Case #6-5: Advertising Real Estate-Related Products and Services.  NOTE:  Other laws and rules may apply.

Shannon Allen is an attorney and Florida Realtors Director of Local Association Services

Note: Advice deemed accurate on date of publication

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