Offices, signs, and working under a broker
The broker's office
Every active broker must keep an office made up of at least one enclosed room in a building of stationary construction (Fla. Stat. 475.22(1)). The office may be in a residential location as long as that does not conflict with local zoning. The minimum office requirements still apply, and the broker's sign must still be displayed (Rule 61J2-10.022).
Sales associates are registered with, and work out of, an office kept and registered in their employer's name.
The entrance sign
A sign must be on or about the entrance of the main office and of each branch office, where it can easily be seen and read by anyone about to enter (Fla. Stat. 475.22(1)).
| The sign must show | Notes |
|---|---|
| The broker's name | For a partnership or corporation, the firm's name or trade name and the name of at least one broker |
| The trade name, if any | |
| "Licensed real estate broker" or "lic. real estate broker" | Either wording is acceptable |
The statute does not require sales associates' names on the sign.
Branch offices
If a broker runs business from more than one office, each additional office must be registered as a branch office, and its fee paid (Rule 61J2-10.023(1)). A temporary shelter on a subdivision the broker is selling is not a branch office, provided no transactions are closed there and no salespeople are permanently assigned to it (Rule 61J2-10.023(2)). If a broker closes a branch and opens one somewhere else, the old registration does not transfer to the new location (Rule 61J2-10.023(3)).
A sales associate works through the employer
Fla. Stat. 475.42(1) lists conduct that is a crime. Several items set limits on sales associates:
- A sales associate may not act as a broker, or work as a sales associate for anyone who is not registered as their employer (475.42(1)(b)).
- A sales associate may collect money in a brokerage transaction only in the employer's name and with the employer's express consent. A sales associate may sue for a commission only against the registered employer (475.42(1)(d)).
- A broker may not employ an unlicensed person as a sales associate (475.42(1)(c)).
- No one may operate under a trade name that is not on the Commission's records and on the license (475.42(1)(j)).
These limits fit with the escrow rules in this unit. The deposit goes to the employing broker, the commission comes from the employing broker, and the public deals with the brokerage named on the sign and in the ads.
Penalties
Most violations of 475.42(1) are second-degree misdemeanors (475.42(2)). Operating as a broker or sales associate without a valid, current, active license is more serious: it is a third-degree felony (475.42(1)(a)).