Q.  I want to have someone from my office cover an open house for me – is that allowed?

A. Yes, you can have another person from your office cover your open house, as long as you obtain your client’s permission ahead of time. It is critical to have a conversation with your seller prior to having another agent host an open house on your listing. Your seller should be informed of the options available for coverage. Massachusetts Regulation (254 CMR 3.00(13)) requires a conspicuous disclosure of any per-existing agency relationship at an open house. Remember to look back to your original agency disclosure form to see what the seller has already acknowledged.  Make sure all agents have a sign at the open house that indicates who they represent – the board has signs that can be used as a template in the flyers section of our contracts.

Additional information supplied by the Berkshire Board:

• If you are a traditional agency, the seller was informed at the first personal meeting with you that all agents in your office would be working on their behalf or as a facilitator, depending on the relationship that they chose at the time.
• Alternatively, if your office is a designated agency office, you and other agents may have been identified as those would be working on the seller’s behalf.  If the agent covering the open house will be working for the seller but wasn’t listed as a designated representative on the original agency disclosure form, you should have an updated form signed. If the agent covering the open house is NOT representing the seller, you would not need anything further.