Can an agent advertise an open house for a listing they do not represent?

Only with permission from the listing agent or the managing broker who holds the listing. Crediting the listing brokerage in the advertisement is not a substitute for permission. Under the REALTOR Code of Ethics, Article 12 and Standard of Practice 12-4, attribution and authorization are separate requirements. Brokerage rules and the listing agreement still control.

What should written permission to promote an open house cover?

The property, who is authorized to promote it, the dates the permission starts and ends, the channels it covers, the exact brokerage credit and disclosure the advertisement must carry, which photos and assets may be used, and how the permission can be revoked.

Free tool · nothing to install

Hosting someone else's open house this weekend?

You are standing in a house you do not represent, hoping someone walks in. The obvious move is to promote it. The problem is that it is not your listing, so you need the listing agent to say yes in writing, and "yes go for it" in a text message does not cover the dates, the credit, or the photos.

Fill this in and it writes the message. Either agent can use it. Nothing gets sent for you, nothing is stored, and there is no account.

Send this to your host

Nothing was sent and nothing was saved. Paste it into a text message or an email yourself, so the reply lands in your own thread and you keep the record.

Why the text message version is not enough

Crediting the listing brokerage in an advertisement is not the same thing as being allowed to run the advertisement. Under the REALTOR Code of Ethics, Article 12 and Standard of Practice 12-4, those are two separate requirements, and Case Interpretation 12-16 addresses the point directly. Credit is not permission.

So a permission worth having says who, what property, which channels, which photos, starting when, ending when, and how to call it off. A message that says "sure, go ahead" answers one of those and leaves the host guessing at the rest.

Every state adds its own advertising disclosure requirements on top of that, and your brokerage may be stricter than either. This tool writes a clear record between two agents. It is not legal advice, it does not make an advertisement compliant, and your broker and the listing agreement still control what you can run.

After the yes

Getting the yes is the agent's job and it always will be. Listing AutomatEr is the part after the yes: it builds the posts, carries the attribution on every one of them, and keeps the record of what ran and when.

Open house Saturday, 11:00 to 2:00
3 bd | 2 ba | 1,850 sqft

Marketed by Jane Agent, Example Realty
Listing courtesy of Another Brokerage

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