Quick Tip of the Week: Adhering to RECO Website Guidelines

So you’ve got a website – great. Now picture this dream-turned-nightmare scenario...You’ve spent some of your time and hard-earned money to give the website a bit of a "pop", some wow factor that captures your visitors’ attention and helps them linger on the page. People are commenting on how appealing your website is – you’re basking in their praise and notice an increase in the length of time people are staying on your website when a letter from the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) brings troubling news. What every REALTOR® dreads – there has been a complaint filed against you because one or more elements of your website aren’t compliant with their guidelines. Now you must act quickly to rectify this issue before further action is taken, including fines being levied. More time, effort and possibly even additional dollars drained from your budget are now needed to correct this. The reality is this situation is easy to avoid, however it still happens more often than you’d imagine.

Check out some of the most common RECO guideline violations and suggestions on how to avoid them:

1. Agent’s name is larger than the brokerage name. Although giving prominence to your name is important, it doesn’t need to be the biggest piece of text on your website. Don’t fall victim to this easy correctable oversight. In fact, your name should complement the brokerage name, being of comparable or lesser size and weight.

2. Keep your name and designation together. The designation should immediate follow your name, for example:
John Doe, Sales Representative
John Doe,
Sales Representative

If it is absolutely necessary to put your title in a different location, you can relate the two with an asterisk (*) but the title must still be in the same general area and remain “clear and prominent”.

3. Don’t forget that you need to have the same contact information for the brokerage throughout your website. You must include a method for contacting the brokerage, such as an office number or address, but it must match the type of contact info you include for yourself.  So you cannot use the office address and your direct number.  If you use your direct number, the office number must be clearly displayed (and denoted as “Office”) on ALL pages.

4. Where is your brokerage name displayed? Remember the name of the brokerage must be prominently displayed in the top area of every page of the website. At all times it must be clear that it is the brokerage advertising.  If it is a franchise, it must also clearly note “Independently owned and operated, Brokerage” with it, to tied closely with asterisks.

5. Work with a group of agents? Well – that is fine and dandy, but the terminology you’ve chosen isn’t! The only acceptable term is Team. Any other term is not permitted.  And, where you use the word “team” on any marketing, you need to specify the name and title of each team member.  Again, this information must be “clear and prominent”.

These, while some might think ridiculous, are simple rules to follow to avoid problems with the regulator.  So it is really not worth trying to beat the system given the headaches that can cause. When you set up your website, you should do it right. 

Stayed tuned for next week’s Quick Tip of the Week!

Authored By: Bryan Coughlin, Client Relations