I am a licensed real estate broker in CA working as a Broker-Salesperson for a company. I am a newly licensed broker and have some questions in regards to the additional rights a broker can exercise as opposed to a salesperson.

From my understanding of the rights of a licensed broker in CA, the DRE states that a Broker can work for him/herself as well as multiple companies at the same time.

http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/mlb_fall05.pdf
Page 3

1.) Can anybody chime in on this who's a real estate broker in CA?

2.) Is it possible to work under a Coldwell Banker and lets say Keller Williams at the same time?

3.) Also, if I can work for myself as a Broker, while also being under another company as a broker-salesperson, what are the rules in choosing who to work under for each transaction.

4.) Furthermore, since I can also work under myself, lets say that I have a client who is going to purchase a property. If I put the offer through under my own name instead of the real estate company that I am also licensed under, then do I not have to pay the commission split for that transaction? Is this permitted?

Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

I am a CA real estate broker and I believe your understanding of the CA DRE regulations is not correct.

You can be the designated broker of record for multiple real estate corporations -- normally those that are related entities, or perhaps owned by the same parent company. In reality, you are not going to find Coldwell Banker and Keller Williams and Re/Max and Prudential, etc., etc., designating the same shared broker of record for obvious conflict of interest and errors and omissions insurance risks. And, of course, being a broker of record, is not the same thing as working in the capacity as an associate broker.

Working as an associate broker is really just working as a salesperson under another broker's license. You cannot work as an associate broker and then claim that you are the broker of record in any transaction conducted under that brokerage. Similarly, besides not claiming you are the broker of record, which you are not, you cannot claim that you are the principal broker of the client just because you have a broker license. In other words, you cannot work under the license of Coldwell Banker or Keller Williams or some other real estate broker, and engage in some transaction, and then claim that the employing broker is owed nothing because you wore your "personal broker hat" on that transaction.

California allows that as a real estate broker, you can work as an associate broker for a real estate company that doesn't do loans, and work for a separate loan brokerage in the capacity as a loan officer -- however your secondary loan relationship needs to be approved by the real estate company.

In any event, if you are in doubt about the DRE regulations concerning agency relationships and the rights and responsibilities of a broker license, you should consult with an attorney to clarify matters for you so that you don't embarass yourself or get yourself into trouble. If you are a Realtor, you can also get some advice by calling the California Association of Realtors Legal Department. Good luck.

Thank You "Cave Man" for your insight into this matter.

Well I'm going to disagree with caveman on this. As a broker I can have as many branch licenses as I want. However I will be restricted by the written agreement of any other broker with which I contract to act as a agent for.

In the real world if your going to act as an associate broker-salesperson for someone that contract is going to be for your services exclusively for all acts requiring a license.

But I have seen brokers maintain a license for one business location and put a branch license and act for a broker in another location.

One I knew well was one license and contract was for all licensed activity in one county, but he was free to use his main license for any business in the rest of the state.

Many real estate brokers for their own personal reasons
elect to work for other brokers in a capacity similar to the
relationship existing between a licensed real estate salesperson
and an employing broker.
However, such broker-salespersons are still licensed by
the Department of Real Estate (DRE) as real estate brokers.
Only by written agreement with another broker are they
acting as broker-salespersons. Section 2726 of the
Commissioner's Regulations requires that “… every real
estate broker shall have a written agreement with each of his
salesmen, whether licensed as a salesman or as a broker under
a broker-salesman arrangement.”
Even though a broker may act as a broker-salesperson in
a relationship with another broker, for Department of Real
Estate licensing and record-keeping purposes the licensee is
still a broker. This means that a broker-salesperson should
still communicate with DRE using only appropriate broker
forms and applications.
When using the proper broker forms no reference should
be made to the name (or fictitious name) of the broker for
whom the broker-salesperson works. That type of information
is irrelevant as there is no reference in the DRE records
that such a working relationship exists. It is also imperative
that a broker-salesperson speak for himself or herself, meaning
that any requests for record changes be made by the
broker-salesperson and not by anyone else on his or her
behalf.
A broker-salesperson should never use salesperson
forms or applications when renewing or making changes to
a broker record. Doing so will possibly cause errors to the
record and delays in processing whatever is requested. Remember
— a broker is always a broker regardless of any
working relationship that may exist with another broker

http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/forms/re230.pdf