Directional signs – Are they advertisements?

Drive through almost any neighborhood in Pennsylvania and you are likely to see “directional” signs in yards and open spaces, often times pointing the way to an open house or listed property. We have fielded numerous questions about whether these “directional signs” are advertisements. The answer, of course, is: “It depends…”  But what could such a simple question “depend” upon? “The answer,” the wizened Hotline Attorney responded, “is whether or not the sign is an advertisement.” 

Now what in the wide world of real estate could such a response mean?

If the sign is a simple arrow pointing the direction to an open house, for example, without any means of identification whatsoever, there can be little argument that would be an ad. But when you start to add information, then the content goes beyond that which is minimally necessary to allow a consumer to find the property, and (may) begin to promote the broker’s business. When the “directional signs” include more than an arrow, you – the licensee – need to keep a few things in mind. The Regulations governing advertising require a brokerage to advertise “only under the business name designated on their license.” There doesn’t even have to be a telephone number on the sign! That makes things clean and simple.

If you add an associate broker’s name or a salesperson’s name, however, things change. The same Regulations require ads placed by associate brokers or salespeople to contain “the business name and telephone number o the employing broker. Then names and telephone numbers shall be of equal size.” YIKES!  The bottom line is this: If you are going to put your name on a sign (regardless of whether or not it is “directional”) you need to include your broker’s name and telephone number.

No related posts.

 Print This Article

Tags: ads, signs, yard

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 at 10:44 am and is filed under Legal Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.