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Old 04-10-2011, 08:16 AM
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BogeyBoy BogeyBoy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pturner View Post
Hi BogeyBoy,
I could be wrong, but I think you are referring to a situation that is peculiar to TV. As I understand a real estate agent (even in FL) generally works for a broker. The license requirements for the broker and an agent are different.

A Florida real estate agent who does not work for TV may sell property listed on the MLS regardless of whether he/she is a Realtor. The agent is a Realtor only if he/she is a member of the National Board of Realtors. That's because Realtor is simply a registered trademark of the National Board of Realtors. Essentially, it's a marketing term.

The reason non-TV real estate agents cannot sell TV-owned property is because TV refused to list its properties on the MLS. Initially, TV's sales associates were still able to sell MLS listings. However their right to do so was rescinded as a result of a lawsuit.

BTW, because the TV sales office calls its staff "sales associates" and not agents, I've often wondered if TV requires all of its sales associates to have an agent's license.
Hi Pturner,

I wasn't really referring to TV, there are many instances where real estate is sold without the involvement of any MLS or Realtor. Another example would be an exclusive high rise condo somewhere in south Florida. When they first start selling units they often were sold only by their elite team of sales people. Those sales representatives would have no reason to become a Realtor or join the Board of Realtors but they still need a license from Florida. It might surprise people to know that a rental agent who gets paid commission also needs to have the same license.

People refer to anyone who sells real estate as a real estate "agent". If you ask anyone in Florida who sells real estate to show you their license it will say one of two things: "Real Estate Sales Associate" or "Real Estate Broker". (Florida Real Estate Commission/FREC Chapter 475.) The licensing, education, and experience levels are higher to become a broker. Many people have a broker's license but still pretty much work as sales people for another broker who owns an agency.

As I had mentioned earlier most Multiple Listing Services are run by a Board of Realtors and if you don't sign up and become a Realtor you do not have access to the MLS. (It got so tricky for a while that I not only had to enter my password to get access, I had a small device that assigned a random code every time I logged in. If I didn't have the random code access was denied, that way I couldn't just let someone use my password to browse around the MLS.) You are correct that TV used to have access to the MLS, they pretty much shut that down overnight a number of years ago. (I guess when they determined they had enough resales of their own and wanted more control of what went on with sales in TV. In my opinion TV walks a fine line meeting the requirement of FREC and they have the resources to keep on the correct side of that line. Independent agencies use more "pre-written" contracts that cover every possible aspect of the law because there is the possibility of selling such a wide variety of properties.)

Okay, let's drop this, I think I would rather continue the discussion about fitted golf clubs now!
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