Property Marketing, Advertising and Disclosure
What this domain tests
This domain tests whether your marketing complies with advertising rules, consumer protection law, and disclosure duties. Expect questions on accuracy of listing content, permission to advertise, identification of the brokerage, and handling of offers and competing interest.
Core rules and concepts
- Advertising must be accurate and not misleading: room counts, lot size, zoning, permitted uses, and inclusions must be verifiable. "Cozy" is opinion; "legal duplex" is a factual claim requiring verification.
- Brokerage identification: advertising must identify the brokerage, not only the salesperson.
- Permission and ownership: you may not advertise another brokerage's listing without authority; you must follow the listing brokerage's cooperation rules.
- Disclosure of material facts: known latent defects, encroachments, unpermitted work, and title issues must be disclosed to buyers regardless of the seller's preference.
- Offer presentation and competing offers: follow the seller's written instructions, keep offer contents confidential, and disclose the number of competing offers only as permitted by the seller and the rules of your jurisdiction.
- Photographs and virtual staging must not misrepresent the property; disclose digitally altered or virtually staged images.
Worked example
A seller says the basement apartment is "fully legal" because it has a stove and a separate entrance. The salesperson has not seen a permit.
Reasoning: "legal" is a factual claim about zoning and permit status, not an opinion. Without verification, the salesperson must not repeat it in advertising. The correct approach is to remove the claim, describe the space neutrally (e.g., "finished lower level with kitchenette"), and advise the seller to obtain confirmation from the municipality. If the seller refuses and the claim is false, advertising it is a misleading representation and a breach of both advertising rules and consumer protection law.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating puffery as protected when it implies a verifiable fact.
- Advertising a listing without the listing brokerage's permission.
- Disclosing offer contents or prices to competing buyers.
- Using virtually staged images without disclosure.
- Omitting a known latent defect because the seller asked you to.