Mississippi Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Under MREC Rule 3.3(A), which of these is an advertisement subject to Mississippi's advertising rules?

• a.A licensee's post on a social media page✓
• b.A private text between two co-workers
• c.A verbal offer conveyed to the seller
• d.A market analysis prepared for a client

MREC Rule 3.3(A) defines an advertisement as any oral, written, visual, printed or electronic media advertisement, then enumerates so widely that almost nothing consumer-facing escapes: correspondence, mailings, newsletters, brochures, business cards, for-sale and for-lease signage and sign riders, promotional items, automobile signage, telephone directory listings, radio and television broadcasts, telephone solicitation, and electronic media including e-mails, text messaging, public blogs, social-media networking websites and internet displays. A licensee's social media post sits squarely on that list, which is why the published exam outline lists "Social media and internet are advertising" as part of "ALL advertising." The other three are communications inside a transaction rather than promotion to the public: a private message between colleagues, an offer communicated to a principal, and an analysis prepared for one client are governed by other rules.

A Mississippi team's yard sign carries the team name in large type. Under Rule 3.3(B) the sign must also carry:

• a.the license number the Commission issued to the team
• b.the name of the team leader and of each team member
• c.a statement that the team is not a separate brokerage
• d.the firm's name in type as large, and its phone number✓

MREC Rule 3.3(B) requires all advertising to be under the direct supervision and in the name of the Principal Broker or of the real estate Brokerage Firm, with that name prominently displayed so that it is conspicuous, discernible and easily identifiable by a member of the public, set in the same size or larger print as that of a licensee, a team member or a team, and it requires all advertising to include the telephone number of the Principal Broker or the Brokerage Firm. Rule 3.5(D) adds that the team name must be situated near the firm's name and set in the same size or smaller print, and makes both the Principal Broker and the Team Leader confirm it. Rule 3.5(E) does forbid team names that suggest an independent brokerage — no "real estate brokerage," "realty," "real estate" or "company" in the name — but it requires no disclaimer on the sign, and no rule calls for a license number or a roster of members.

A Mississippi salesperson advertises her own house for sale and has not listed it with any firm. She must:

• a.disclose her licensed status in the advertising✓
• b.advertise it in her responsible broker's name
• c.obtain the Commission's written approval first
• d.offer it first to the firm's registered buyers

MREC Rule 3.3(D) requires a licensee advertising her own property for sale, purchase or exchange, where the property is not listed with a broker, to indicate that she is licensed, and the disclosure must appear in every form of advertising enumerated in Rule 3.3(A), including the "for sale" sign. The same rule requires licensees to disclose their licensed status on all real estate contracts in which they hold an ownership interest, and forbids advertising in a way that indicates the offer is being made by a private party not engaged in the real estate business. Because the property is not listed with the firm, it is not the broker's listing to advertise in the firm's name. Rule 3.1(I) confirms that a licensee is not exempt from Commission discipline when selling property she owns, and Section 73-35-21(1)(h) makes displaying a "for sale" sign on any property without the owner's consent a disciplinary ground in its own right.