Broad Standing Disclosure

The property management business is a thin-margin, nickel-dime, service business and managers need lots of different ways to generate revenue to survive, including setting up separate businesses that can support (and profit off of) the management business.

We all know that disclosures to our owners is critical to keep your license but often struggle with the question ‘When And How Do I Disclose’ so I can charge fees, receive referral checks, take commissions, make spreads, profit on maintenance, markup ancillary services and make money through outside companies I own. The question is, “what do I say in the PMA (that owners will accept) that permits me to make this additional revenue … and, how can I word it so the owner doesn’t get mad, or the real estate commission come down on me for not disclosing properly?

We struggled with this for years and tried lots of different methods of disclosure that met these three criteria. In the mid 90’s, with attorney Monica Gilroys help, we finally settled with this language. Owners feel it’s reasonable and fair; it opens up the floodgates of new revenue streams, and, it satisfies the real estate commission's requirements of Full Disclosure. It’s called a Broad Standing Disclosure.