Did you know that 12 states maintain their own do-not-call lists? In addition, many municipalities around the country have enacted do-no-solicit door-knocking rules. Violation of these rules can result in thousands of dollars in fines and even jail time. To make sure you’re not unknowingly putting yourself at risk, watch this video.

If you’re new to this business, you’re probably being told to do a lot of door-knocking and cold calling, but you could be breaking the law and not even know it. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Door-knocking

A lot of municipalities mandate that you have to have a permit to solicit business. Penalties for violating local regulations can range from $500, $10,000 and/or jail time in some areas.

Do-not-call lists

You have to scrub the lists against federal Do-Not-Call (DNC) registries. But 12 states also have their own DNC lists.

There are services you can subscribe to that give you people’s contact info with DNC scrubbers.

When holding open houses, make sure you don’t offer them anything other than an invite to the open house. Just invite people over, and warn them about any potential traffic.

For-sale-by-owners are giving people consent to contact with them when they post their house info publicly.

Calling your clients

If your client is on DNC registry, you can only call them up to 18 months after you get paid. Laws prohibit you contacting them after that, and you could get fined up to $42,530 without written permission.

For more information, watch the video above, and also check your local and state laws.

Luis Leiva is the CEO and broker of record at New Jersey-based Culture Estate. Follow him on Instagram or subscribe to his Youtube channel.

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