Title 19 Part 175

A real estate broker shall not commingle the money or other property of his principal with his own and shall at all times maintain a separate, special bank account to be used exclusively for the deposit of said monies and which deposit shall be made within three business days. Until such time as the money is deposited into a separate, special bank account, it shall be safeguarded in a secure location so as to prevent loss or misappropriation. Said monies shall not be placed in any depository, fund or investment other than a federally insured bank account. Accrued interest, if any, shall not be retained by, or for the benefit of, the broker except to the extent that it is applied to, and deducted from, earned commission, with the consent of all parties.

A real estate broker shall, within a reasonable time, render an account to his client and remit to him, any monies collected for his client, and unexpended for his account.

A real estate broker shall not directly or indirectly buy for himself property listed with him, nor shall he acquire any interest therein without first making his true position clearly known to the listing owner.

Before a real estate broker buys property for a client in the ownership of which the broker has an interest, he shall disclose his interest to all parties to the transaction.

Before a real estate broker sells property in which he owns an interest, he shall make such interest known to the purchaser.

A real estate broker shall make it clear for which party he is acting and he shall not receive compensation from more than one party except with the full knowledge and consent of the broker’s client.

No real estate broker shall negotiate the sale, exchange or lease of any property directly with an owner or lessor if he knows that such owner, or lessor, has an existing written contract granting exclusive authority in connection with such property with another broker.

No real estate broker shall induce any party to a contract of sale or lease to break such contract for the purpose of substituting in lieu thereof a new contract with another principal.

A real estate broker shall never offer a property for sale or lease without the authorization of the owner.

No sign shall ever be placed on any property by a real estate broker without the consent of the owner.

A real estate broker shall immediately deliver a copy of any instrument to any party or parties executing the same, where such instrument has been prepared by such broker or under his supervision and where such instrument relates to the employment of the broker or to any matters pertaining to the consummation of a lease, or the purchase, sale or exchange of real property or any other type of real estate transaction in which he may participate as a broker.

A real estate broker shall not accept the services of any salesman or employee in the organization of another real estate broker without the knowledge of the broker and no real estate broker should give or permit to be given or directly offer to give anything of value for the purpose of influencing or rewarding the actions of any salesman or employee of another real estate broker in relation to the business of such broker or the client of such broker without the knowledge of such broker.

A real estate salesman shall, upon termination of his association with a real estate broker, forthwith turn over to such broker any and all listing information obtained during his association whether such information was originally given to him by the broker or copied from the records of such broker or acquired by the salesman during his association.

No real estate broker shall be a party to an exclusive listing contract which shall contain an automatic continuation of the period of such listing beyond the fixed termination date set forth therein.

No licensed real estate broker or applicant applying for a real estate broker's license, may use a trade or corporate name which, in the opinion of the Department of State, is so similar to the trade name or corporate name of any licensed real estate broker that confusion to the public will result therefrom.

No licensed real estate salesman may own, either singly or jointly, directly or indirectly, any voting shares of stock in any licensed real estate brokerage corporation with which he is associated.

“EXPLANATION:

An “exclusive right to sell” listing means that if you, the owner of the property, find a buyer for your house, or if another broker finds a buyer, you must pay the agreed commission to the present broker. An “exclusive agency” listing means that if you, the owner of the property find a buyer, you will not have to pay a commission to the broker. However, if another broker finds a buyer, you will owe a commission to both the selling broker and your present broker.”

Team names shall use the term “team.” The use of any other terms besides “team,” such as “associate,” “realty” or “group” is prohibited. The use of the name of a non-licensed individual in a team name is prohibited.

For purposes of compliance with subdivision 3 of section 441-a of article 12 of the Real Property Law, in an apartment building where the posting of signs is not permitted in the lobby pursuant to the rules and regulations of the building, said sign must be posted on the corridor wall next to the entrance door of the dwelling unit or on the entrance door of the dwelling unit or on the entrance door of the dwelling unit in which the business is conducted.

Nothing in this Part is intended to be, or should be construed as, an indication that a salesperson is either an independent contractor or employee of a broker.