I apologize for the subject title b/c it needs explaining.

Broker has 2 offices, in two separate towns-- office A and office B. He closes office A and agents from A go to B, but they're unhappy with this. Most agents leave and join brokerages back in town A. One remains at office B, but insists that the telephone number for the closed office be forwarded directly to him/her, that it remain on his/her signs and on his/her biz card.

While this is unfair to all the other agents (that only one agent will get calls from Town A where the office WAS but is no longer, and they, too, actively have listings and clients in Town A b/c it's part of their market and close by and THEIR signage has Office B's telephone number)-- can the broker continue to have the closed office number advertised when he no longer has an office in that area?

I vaguely remember from Broker school (but didn't listen too carefully) about what should happen when a broker closes an office branch and what shouldn't happen. I don't have my own shop, so I'm not really up to speed on something like this.

They should have thought about that before leaving Office B.

It's still a valid functioning telephone number for that Brokerage.

Kudos to that one loyal Agent. He'll probably have to foot the telephone bill for the "Call Forwarding" . . . . as long as it's worthwhile.

Well, I don't know but here's something I know that happened...

A broker closed her office and came to our office as an agent / associate broker. Shut down her entire firm. BUT she had the phone number forward to our brokerage.

I do not know if it went directly to her before she quit completely and left the state - I do know that old number still goes to our office.

The companies were not the same name btw.

It probably depends on your state's real estate commission rules. In our state, the name and phone number of the brokerage must be on any consumer "advertising" which can include business cards, yard signs, print or on-line advertising,etc. There can be another number and an agent name, but the number registered with the state must be included.

"Somebody" is still paying for calls to that old number to be forwarded; and do so willingly because it's a good investment.

We used to get calls from 20 or 25 year old ads placed in media like Yankee Magazine or National Geographic - "Zombie Ads" we'd call them. They never die. They're destined to wander the earth forever.

But we don't embarrass the Callers by reminding them of how old their ad is. (Some prices are back to where they were then).

That's exactly what I thought. And pretty much still do despite checking with the DRE.

They say it's okay to have the tel# of a defunct office on signage. Yes, they do. They explained it (the way I usually do here!) with comparisons. COMPANY A (not a RE brokerage) buys COMPANY B, who then closes their doors. The buy-out includes all good will, customer base, etc., AND telephone number.

Actually despite it was an atty telling me this, it still doesn't make sense in real estate. Either you DO have an branch office with a telephone in Town A, or you do not. Even if you no longer advertise Town A's address. The telephone number from the defunct office needs an announcement, "The number you have reached is no longer in service. The new number is: (number for existing branch office)". Consumers should NOT be led to believe by a telephone exchange, they're dealing with an office in that town.

So, the signs I'm talking about DO have the brokerage name, but have the OLD closed office telephone number. There aren't too many around because, as previously stated, only ONE agent from the closed branch office is using the closed office telephone number on his/her signage. All other signs (used by all the other agents) have the telephone number of the existing branch office in the other town.

And no, the orphaned agent now working at the main office is not paying for the old telephone number to be forwarded to his/her cell so that he/she gets all sign calls from the town where the office was closed. I cannot tell you the distress this is causing all the other agents who are effectively barred from getting "up" calls or sign calls from the other town.

Then who is paying for the phone number?

My phone number of record is for a different (though nearby) area than where my actual office is located. The way I read your opinion, I would similarly be guilty of false advertising...Correct?

So the phone number originally belonged to the brokerage. They closed their office, and the brokerage still retained that phone number. That seems entirely uncomplicated to me; I fail to see how there could be any possible breach of the law...at least according to my own local regulations. Around here, the only thing that matters is that the broker notify the DRE of the physical location of any new or shuttered branch offices. They don't even ask for a branch office-specific phone number.

As to the broker's method of routing/distributing calls to that number, or the use of that number on his/her agents' signs...those seem like internal matters to me. "Unfair to the other agents" doesn't mean "illegal."

The Brokerage is still alive and well; they just closed one Office. People trying to reach that Broker using the number of the closed Office STILL reach the same Brokerage.

All but one of the Agents who used to be working out of that closed Office are no longer affiliated with their prior Broker . . . . and probably, they all have new Telephone Numbers (Except for the loyal one who kept his/her credentials with the original Broker).

Sour Grapes ?

"People trying to reach that Broker using the number of the closed Office STILL reach the same Brokerage". Not exactly, people reach the 1 agent. More than a dozen other agents don't get those calls. However, the 1 agent taking all calls from the closed branch and getting all those leads sits floor with the dozen other agents and gets leads from that, too.

I don't think it's sour grapes. "Loyalty" doesn't come into play. Had the 1 agent not insisted on getting all the calls from the prior branch office area (AND regular floor time at the main office), he/she would be gone with the other agents who joined brokerages serving that area.

Then this is a matter that should be brought up with the Broker at the next Staff Meeting . . . . or even sooner if there's that much unhappiness on the Crew.

My feeling is that the remaining Agent from the now closed Branch Office is just dealing with the residual business from that Office.