Luxury Real Estate invites brokers and their companies to join the Board of Regents based on their integrity, commitment to excellence and demonstrated knowledge of the luxury real estate market. Prospective Regents are selected from the leaders of the brokerage community and are submitted to the existing Board of Regents for their approval. Upon approval, the prospective Regents member is sent a detailed application and contract. If the application process is satisfactory, he or she is offered a position on the Board of Regents. Only one Regents member is selected in each territory.

Are franchise companies allowed to participate?

Yes. The Board of Regents is primarily comprised of strong, independent luxury real estate brokers. In an effort to choose the most appropriate representative for each territory, a broker may be admitted that has an affiliation with a regional or national franchise.

Can my company be asked to resign from the Board of Regents?

Yes. While we anticipate contracts will be honored for their duration, in rare circumstances, a broker can be asked to resign from the Board of Regents for violation of the rules, ethics and commitments of being a Regents member. The current Regents will be consulted before any decisions are made.

Benefits and Responsibilities

What benefits do Regents receive?

The Board of Regents’ benefits are those outlined in the Regents membership contract. Regents receive all of the benefits that members of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate receive, including:

• Access to LuxuryRealEstate.com.
• Access to LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine.
• Access to Luxury Real Estate Technology.
• Listing in the annual Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate Directory.
• Invitation to Luxury Real Estate Events.
• Group advertising opportunities (Wall Street Journal, Unique Homes and others).
• Access to the Luxury Real Estate logos and marketing materials.
• Access to a team of dedicated staff members who will answer questions and offer support.
• Access to the Luxury Lounge.
  

In addition, Regents receive:

• Designation as the exclusive Regents member in their territory on LuxuryRealEstate.com and Regents.com.
• Customized, territory-specific Regents logo.
• Access to exclusive technology such as Regents.com and First Search on LuxuryRealEstate.com.
• Listing in the annual Regents Directory.
• Regents specific marketing materials.
• Board of Regents brass plaque.
• Access to all Regents information channels (i.e. monthly newsletters).
• Invitation to private social functions and meetings at conferences.
• Use of free PR services and the LRE Blog
• Free Featured Properties on LuxuryRealEstate.com.
• Notification of certain new programs and the right to first refusal.
• Access to Regents Alliances™ and all related materials.

What is the annual Board of Regents membership commitment?

Board of Regents membership fees vary depending on when a Regents member joined. Regents who joined before the program was launched (prior to August 16, 2004) pay the lowest membership fee.

What responsibilities do Regents have?

Regents member’s responsibilities are outlined in the Board of Regents contract. The basic responsibilities are to actively and positively promote the Board of Regents brand. This includes:

• Properly using the Board of Regents logo in marketing materials and on the Web.
• Supporting and creating business for fellow members by sharing ideas and referring business.
• Participating in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine three pages annually.
• Attending one conference each year.
• Reporting annual sales activity.
• Providing a list of agents who qualify as luxury specialists.

What is the Board of Regents Executive Committee?

The Board of Regents Executive Committee provides leadership and guidance on decisions that affect the Board of Regents. Committee members are elected by their peers annually at the Spring Retreat and serve for a year at a time.

Branding

Which logo should I use when promoting my company?

The Board of Regents logos promote your company as a Regents member; therefore, you should use the Regents logos (REG1 and REG2) listed in section 5.2 or those updated on Regents.com. In order to protect Regents’ exclusive territories, the generic Board of Regents logos (REG1) may only be used in Web and local marketing, while the territory-specific logos (REG2) may be used anywhere and are required to be used in print advertising that will cross territory boundaries, especially those territories that include other Regents members.

The Board of Regents is the governing body of Luxury Real Estate, so it is appropriate to promote the umbrella company, Luxury Real Estate, and the Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate network. Therefore, Luxury Real Estate logos (LRE1) and Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate logos (LRE2) may be used, but only in conjunction with a Regents logo. The Regents logo must be displayed more prominently.

Logos

Following are the available logos (previous logos are being phased out). Please see Regents.com/logos.html and http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/logos.html to download the logos.

Can I advertise my Board of Regents affiliation on all my properties?

The Board of Regents logo should be used on all promotional materials for “Qualifying Properties” (described below). Promotional materials include, but are not limited to, home signage, print advertising and flyers.

“Qualifying Properties” are luxury properties (generally in the top ten percent of your local market) AND are located in your defined territory (as described in your Regents contract). These Qualifying Properties will be displayed on Regents.com and LuxuryRealEstate.com. In addition, those listings with a price in the top ten percent of your market will have the Regents logo on LuxuryRealEstate.com and will be eligible for First Search. First Search randomly promotes properties to the top of each search on LuxuryRealEstate.com when the listing meets the search criteria.

How can my agents use the Regents program?

Agents have access to many of the benefits enjoyed by Board of Regents members. For example, qualifying listings may be listed on LuxuryRealEstate.com and Regents.com, advertised in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and so on. Any of the Regents members’ agents may use Regents member brochures and listing materials for Qualifying Properties.

In addition, agents with a Regents member who are considered “luxury specialists” may use the Regents logos when marketing themselves, whether it is on a business card or in an advertisement. An agent qualifies as a luxury specialist if his or her name has been submitted by their company and the agent has been involved in at least two luxury transactions within the past year. All Regents must provide a list of the luxury specialists within their company regardless of whether the agent plans to use the Regents program.

Moreover, a luxury specialist may choose to apply for an annual Elite Agent membership, which allows the agent to receive a personal profile on LuxuryRealEstate.com.

Can I modify the logos?

Consistency of the brand is very important both for brand recognition and for legal protection. Logos should not be modified. The size of a logo may be changed, however the scale must remain consistent. Please refer to the Brand Identity Standards Document found on LuxuryRealEstate.com.

What are the colors for the Board of Regents and Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate?

The official colors for the Board of Regents are black and platinum. The official colors for Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate are blue and gold. Materials that are produced by Luxury Real Estate will follow these colors. Members are encouraged to use the logos in black or white. However, members may adjust the logos’ colors to suitably integrate the logos into their company branding.

Exclusive Territories

What are exclusive Regents territories?

Board of Regents represent an exclusive Regents territory as defined in their contract. While there is only one Regents member representing a territory there may be other Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate members also in that territory. In addition, since Regents are successful companies, they often conduct business beyond their territory. A company is always a Regents member regardless of where they are, but if a Regents member extends beyond its territory, the company is required to indicate the territory they represent by using their territory specific logo. This is especially crucial when a Regents member conducts business in another Regents member’s territory. Please refer to Section 5: Branding, for more information.

Can my competitors’ listings in my territory be on Regents.com?

Regents.com only features luxury properties in their exclusive territory. If a Regents member has a listing in the territory of another Regents member, the property will not be listed on Regents.com. The property will be listed on LuxuryRealEstate.com, but it will not be marketed as a Regents listing or be eligible for First Search.

Competition

What advantages do Regents have over their competitors?

The Board of Regents is an international network that promotes you and your established business name. Membership benefits include connections with the most successful real estate professionals worldwide, an exclusive defined territory, access to Regents.com and LuxuryRealEstate.com and other cutting-edge technology, opportunities to promote properties through a variety of high-quality print materials such as LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine, invitations to conferences and other special events and more. The goal is to provide the top products in a wide variety of areas in order to promote your company as effectively as possible.

Interaction

What is accomplished at Board of Regents meetings?

The meetings are a dynamic forum for Regents to exchange ideas among fellow brokers from different territories to assist one another in being more successful. The meetings are also a forum for Regents to voice their feedback about the direction of the company and the Luxury Real Estate network. Broker to broker referrals often result from connections made at our meetings.

How do the Regents stay connected?

Regents maintain contact through a variety of methods, including monthly newsletters and conference meetings. Open communication and feedback is encouraged at all meetings. In addition, you can always use the Regents Directory or the roster on Regents.com to contact a fellow Regents member. The Luxury Lounge, our online networking community is another medium for connecting with other members.

Referrals

How can I encourage fellow Regents to send me referrals?

Referrals tend to take place between those you know and trust. Since only the top-quality brokers are invited to join the Board of Regents and Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate, referrals are a built-in benefit of being a member. Members are encouraged to use both the Regents Directory and the Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate Directory when making referrals to clients. In addition, Regents meetings are a great place to network and make contacts. To further assist in the referral process, Luxury Real Estate has developed Luxury Referral Services described in Section 2.5. Additionally, the Luxury Lounge is a place to assist you in generating referrals.