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NAVIGATING THE GUIDELINES

<aside> 🔰 To comply with provincial regulations and regulatory guidelines, use this document when creating any advertising and marketing materials. This document compiles and bridges the guidelines and requirements across several regulators into a single source. For clarification and certainty on whether or not your advertising is compliant, please submit your advertising directly to the Brokerage for review.

When referring to this document, keep the following in mind;

• All advertising must also contain and reference the Mandatory Requirements to be considered compliant.
• For the purpose of the following sections, “Broker” & “Agent” will be used to refer to licensed mortgage personnel, regardless of their province or license status.
• [ * ] indicates that additional verification or proof should be uploaded in the Submission Form. </aside>

*ACHIEVEMENTS, AWARDS, CORPORATE CLUBS

This is permitted, under certain conditions. If there exists a time limit or membership length, that information must be clearly displayed. For example, if you won an award for “best agent” in 2013, that year should be clearly expressed within your advertising. Submit any documentation for these to the Brokerage directly.

ADDRESSES

If an address is present, it must be the Brokerage’s address. Personal addresses are not permitted for use and so the Brokerage address must be laid out in these cases. For our Brokerage address, refer to the Brokerage Information document.

ADVERTISING FOR PARTICULAR MORTGAGES

• Mortgages For Fixed Amounts: Advertisements for a mortgage for a fixed amount that state the interest rate or the amount of any payment or of any charge other than interest, must also include the APR and the term of the mortgage and the APR must be displayed in a manner consistent with the remainder of the advertisement. If the APR or the terms of the mortgage are not the same for all mortgages to which the advertisement relates, the disclosure must be based on an example of a mortgage that fairly depicts all those mortgages and is identified as a representative sample of them.
• Mortgages Securing Lines Of Credit: Advertisements for mortgages that secure lines of credit that state the annual interest rate or the amount of any payment or of any charge either than interest must also include the annual rate of interest on the date of the advertisement. They must also include any initial or periodic charges other than interest and this information must be displayed as prominently as the other information in the ad.
• Interest-Free Periods: If an advertisement states or implies that a period of the mortgage is free of any interest charges, the ad must indicate whether interest accrues during the period and is payable after the period. If interest does not accrue during a period the ad must clearly state: (1) that there is an interest-free period or grace period, (2) the conditions that apply to qualify for the interest-free period, and (3) the APR or the annual interest rate if the conditions are not met.

BUSINESS CARDS

The mandatory requirements persist. The use of certain titles, such as “Specialist” may be misleading without the correct verification. Please see the Other Professional Designations and Stated Experience guidelines for more information.

COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING

This advertising draws a comparison either directly or indirectly to other competitors in some way. A phrase such as, “we do more mortgages than anyone else” is considered as a bad example of comparative advertising. While it is permitted, this advertising should be avoided in most cases. To be approved, Comparative Advertising must be clearly worded, in good taste, and verifiable.

DELEGATION OF TEAMS

Advertising as a team is usually not permitted. However, if permitted, any and all teams must have Brokerage Approval and the responsibilities and delegations must be laid out in an agreement, also approved by the Brokerage. Please contact the Brokerage for more information if you are interested in forming a team. Note: some regulators also require certain verification for team approvals. Please also review the Team Names guidelines if your advertising contains a reference to a Team.