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Gilleran Griffin Company, Inc. State of California Policy Manual Exhibit A Revised 11/09 -Copyright 2009

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Gilleran Griffin

Realtors

Gilleran Griffin Company, Inc.

Company Policy Manual Copyright Gilleran Griffin Company, Inc.2009

State of California

Exhibit ARevised 11/09

Introduction:

This Policy Manual is intended to establish for the associate licensee a solid understanding of the company’s positions on the topics

referenced in this manual and thereby help to establish a solid and successful relationship. However, these policies and procedures cannot

encompass the entire relationship in every detail, nor will they remain unchangeable as time and events mandate revisions.

As you reference this manual, there may be matters not addressed that you personally wish to have clarified. Please take the time,

from time to time, to help us address these matters for you. This will help us to expand this manual as needed. In this respect, a policy

manual is a living document.

Licensees and clients will find that the policies of Gilleran Griffin Company are in keeping with the highest standards of the real

estate industry and governed by the best interests of the client

The laws of the State of California and specifically the laws of the California Department of Real Estate are the foundations of our

broker/associate relationship. These laws also are subject to change. We as broker and you as associate licensee have an obligation to the

clients we serve to stay current with these laws and to abide by them.

For your easy future reference, this Policy Manual can be obtained on our Web-site at www. gilran.com. Changes to this Policy

Manual will be documented on supplemental additions. Those additions will be e-mailed to all Gilleran Griffin associate licensees for their

review and signed approval.

Gilleran Griffin Company is a California corporation, licensed by the California Department of Real Estate, License Number

00528480, referenced herein as “Broker,” “Gilleran Griffin Realtors” or “Gilleran Griffin.” As a licensed associate with Broker, you may

be referenced herein as “Associate Licensee.”

Gilleran Griffin Realtors statewide virtual office supports real estate sale licensees and broker licensees throughout the state of

California. Our objective for licensees is to establish freedom of opportunity to earn as near to 100% commissions as is possible while

providing essential support and premium supervision through an Internet based medium that enables licensees to perform with competence

and confidence on behalf of their clients.

Clients today hold real estate agents to a higher level of knowledge and services that were not expected of agents in prior years,

yet clients are aware that agents cannot know everything, especially in this world of information overload where even experts cannot keep

current. However, clients expect agents to be professionally knowledgeable and to get responsive answers to their questions. Knowing

how to find what you need to know is the hallmark of a true professional. To this purpose, our organization, management, staff and our

website is directed toward your need find what you need to know quickly and reliably. Your clients who access our website will also gain

confidence in you as they discover for themselves the services and knowledge at your d isposal.

Having buyers and sellers is where your business starts. Our services and support are also dedicated to your developing community

and web-based networking alternatives to expand and convert your social relationships into business relationships, saving you time and

money using Internet social networking to your best advantage. You do not have to be an Internet expert to effectively make the Internet

a place of business. Let us help you get the most from the Internet.


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As an Associate Licensee of Gilleran Griffin, we will always respect your freedom of individuality. We set no dress codes, no rigid

corporate image, no quotas on sales, no restricted territories, and no monthly fees, no hidden fees, no extra service fees, nor do we

exclusive ly promote any service provider, nor do we set commission standards. With a few exceptions, we encourage you to utilize the

advantages licensed to you by the State of California.

Index:

1. Becoming an Associate Licensee w ith Gilleran Griffin Realtors.

2. Membership to an Association of REALTORS

3. Membership to an MLS.

4. The California Statewide MLS

5. Contracts and Forms.

6. Real Estate Signs.

7. Advertising

8. Verify License Status of Co-operative Agent.

9. Trust Funds.

10. Processing of Checks. Purchase Checks / Lease Checks/ Cashiers’ checks.

11. Registration of Checks.

12. Escrow and M ortgage Services

13. Ethical Standards.

14. Brokerage Activities Allowed.

15. Brokerage Activities Not-Allowed

16. Agent’s Price Opinion Allowed.

17. MLS Listings Not Allowed -Limited Service Listing and Entry-Only Listing

18. Associate Licensee Coordinator

19. Brokers’ Offices

20. Broker’s Branch Offices.

21. Do-Not-Call Status.

22. Referral Fees.

23. Annual M embership Fee

24. Appraisal Reports:

25. Transfer Disclosure Statement - Agent’s Visual Inspection Report

26. Pest Control Reports

27. Material Facts:

28. Non-English Contracts.

29. Sending Documents to Broker.

30. Retention of Records

31. Easy Catch Up

32. Time is of the Essence.

33. Contingency Removals

34. Overuse of E-M ail.

35. Transactions in Which You Are Personally Involved.

36. Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).


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37. Training and Refreshing Your Skills.

38. Litigation Aw areness

39. Resolution of Claims and Disputes

40. Equal Opportunity.

41. Discrimination

42. Sexual Harassment.

43. How to contact Gilleran Griffin Realtors.

Policies

1. Becoming an Associate Licensee w ith Gilleran Griffin Realtors.

You must provide to Gilleran Griffin the following:

a) Your original California real estate sales license, or a copy of your California real estate broker’s license.

b) A copy of the Signature Page signed and dated by you which references the followings documents:

1) Broker/Associate Licensee Independent Contractor,

2) Company Policy Manual - Exhibit A

3) Commission & Fees Schedule Agreement - Exhibit B

c) A signed and completed New Associate Information Form.

d) A signed copy of a W-9 income tax form.

e) A copy of your California driver’s license.

f) The annual membership fee of $198 payable to Gilleran Griffin Co.

Prorate the initial membership fee by $16.50 per month for the months remaining in year. The annual membership fee is non-

refundable. You may pay the fee with check or by credit card authorization.

2. Membership to an Association of REALTORS.

The most powerful brand name in real estate today is REALTORS. To compete successfully in today’s markets you must have

access to the services provided by the REALTORS associations. When you join a Realtors association, your membership includes

membership in the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the California Association of Realtors (CAR).

As an Associate Licensee with Gilleran Griffin Company, you agree to maintain membership to an Association of Realtors of your

choice. You may join a Realtor Association of your choice provided Broker has met or will meet the requirement of Broker participation

for that association.

Through CAR, you will gain access to Winforms On-Line, which provides California agents with legal documents and forms that

have become standards of the industry. Forms Advisor and Forms Tutor are of significant assistance in assembling required documentation.

Through CAR, you will gain access to several essential Internet on-line programs, such as RELAY that can assist in documentation

transmissions and storage, and Client Direct, a monthly e-mail newsletter for your clients.

3. Membership to an MLS.

You may join an MLS of your choice provided Broker has met or will meet the requirement of Broker participation for that MLS .

Your membership in an MLS requires you to abide by the MLS rules and regulations. Time and accuracy are critical in submitting MLS

listings. Therefore, the M LS does issue fines for violations. Attending to MLS issues is equally critical to maintain your membership.

As a listing agent, commission percentage you agree to be paid to a cooperative broker in your MLS listing is an inducement for

an agent to bring a buyer to your property, therefore, the commission sated is a binding agreement between a listing broker and other MLS

subscribers. If you receive an offer from a participating MLS subscriber, you cannot change the MLS commission offered.


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4. The California Statewide MLS

CAR is forging ahead to make our industry better for you and better for your clients. This statewide MLS will eventually bring

together a majority of the separate M LS systems throughout the state beginning sometime in 2010.

5. Contracts and Forms.

As an Associate Licensee, you are required to use only California W informs/ Zipforms documents and forms, Gilleran Griffin

California contracts and forms available on our web-site at gilran.com, and Air Commercial Real Estate contracts and forms (AIR).

6. Real Estate Signs.

Signs can be ordered from any sign company of your choice a t your expense. Recommended Service Providers, such as sign

companies, can be found on our Website. Always know the restrictions on signs for your local communities.

7. Advertising.

All advertizing and operational activities are at the sole cost of the Associate Licensee. Associate Licencee is not authorized to

make any agreements with any vendor that would establish Gilleran Griffin as the customer of the vendor.

All advertising and marketing materials require approval of Broker. Other than real estate signs and newspaper ads, associate

licensees’ DRE license number must be included on business cards and other promotional materials.

DRE requires all advertizing and marketing materials to include the identity of the brokerage company. Broker should always be

identified as “Gilleran Griffin Realtors.”

All for sale and for lease signs must display the company logo and name at it appears on this manual. You may place below the

logo your local area of service, such as the name of the city or county.

You must display a telephone number that is answered by yourself (home/cell) or by an answering service. Do not display

the Broker's corporation office or branch office telephone numbers.

8. Verify License Status of Co-operative Agent.

In transactions involving co-operative agents, always verify that the agent and broker hold a valid real estate license. Individuals

acting as agents who are not licensed or who have allowed their license to be suspended will not be paid commissions on those transactions

in which they acted as an agent without a license. To easily verify the license status of an agent, on the Internet go to the Department of Real

Estate website ‘dre.ca.gov’. Never assume an agent is current.

If you discover the agent does not hold a current license, this must be addressed immediately. Inform the agent the DRE is reporting

that their license is not current. If the agent cannot resolve this issue with the DRE, the agent should be replaced by an agent who does hold

a current license.

9. Trust Funds. Gilleran Griffin Company does not maintain trust fund accounts. Therefore, you are not authorized to accept any funds

in trust on behalf of a client.

10. Processing of Checks.

Purchase Checks: You are authorized to accept deposits on behalf of clients. All deposits must be in the form of a check only.

Do not have purchase money checks made payab le to Gilleran Griffin Company. Purchase money checks should be made payable to an

escrow company only. On the back of the check, have the client write the following: “For deposit into escrow only toward the purchase

of . . . ( Identify the property).” Checks must be deposited with the escrow company as determined by the purchase agreement.

A practice of some brokerage companies is not to take a check from the buyer at all. When the purchase agreement has been

consummated, the buyer gives checks directly to the escrow company. This means the agent does not have a check from the buyer. The draw

back to this procedure is that listing brokers usually want the offer from the buyer to be accompanied with a good faith deposit check.

It may be a material fact to the seller that your buyer has not provided a deposit check with the offer to purchase, so the offer must

state this fact in the purchase agreement. Do not let the listing agent and the seller conclude that your buyer has given you a check with the

offer when they have not.

Lease Checks. The Lessee may pay to Lessor the entire deposit as determined by the lease agreement. Lessor, therefore, would

pay commissions to the Lessor’s brokerage company who in turn would pay commissions due to a cooperative brokerage company.

An acceptable common practice of many Lessor’s brokerage companies, including Gilleran Griffin Company, is to have the Lessee

pay the commissions due the brokerage companies from the deposits, with a balance due check made payable to the Lessor. In other words,

the Lessee provides three checks, one payab le to Lessor, one to the listing broker and one to the cooperative broker.

Cashiers’ checks. All lease checks must be cashiers’ checks.


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11. Registration of C hecks.

The Dept. of Real Estate requires all checks received by you from all clients to be registered with your brokerage company as soon

as practical. Gilleran Griffin Associate Licensees must register these checks by e-mail to the company headquarters. The disposition of

the checks received must also be recorded with the company; that is, did the check go to escrow or d id you return the check to the client.

Other than by phone or fax to register checks, , you can contact Broker by our exclusive agent e-mail address [email protected].

12. Escrow and Mortgage Services. Gilleran Griffin does not offer company escrow services or mortgage services, which services should

be conducted at arms length from brokerage services.

13. Ethical Standards.

The National Association of REALTORS sustains a Code of Ethics and Standard of Practice that governs the activities of Realtor

members. This document can be found in many places on the Internet and on our website. Tthe Code has been adopted by the California

Department of Real Estate as a standard to live by. You should refresh your knowledge of the Code of Ethics from time to time because

the Codes are amended from time to time.

14. Brokerage Activities Allowed

Associate Licensees may represent, either with an exclusive relationship or non-exclusive relationship, buyers and sellers, lessees

and lessors or both (dual sale) on sales and lease of:

Residential properties,

Income properties,

Commercial property,

Industrial properties

Vacant Land.

Dual agency is allowed, however, dual agency requires prior knowledge and written consent of both buyer and seller on

a disclosure notice separate from other documents. Our website provides a Dual Agency Disclosure in our Documentation file.

15. Brokerage Activities Not-Allowed.

Business Opportunity sales are not allow ed except upon special request .

Mortgage brokerage, lending activity of any kind is not allowed.

Property management is not allowed.

Mobilehome sales are not allowed except upon special request.

Loan Modification services of any kind are not allowed.

Collecting an Advance Fee of any kind is not allowed.

Conducting an auction is not allowed.

Associate Licensee shall not act as an appraiser nor provide appraisals, shall not compete against clients’ best interests, shall

not accept and keep profits secret from clients or Broker, shall not provide clients with legal or tax advise, shall not sign a document on

behalf of a client, and shall not receive any checks in their name or accept cash from any client.

Licensed real estate brokers who are Associate Licensees with Gilleran Griffin may operate under other brokerage associations not

affiliated with Gilleran Griffin Company in order for them to transact Business O pportunity, Mortgage Brokerage and Income Property

Management, Mobilehome sales or Loan Modification provided those services are not related to a Broker transaction.

16. Agent’s Price Opinion Allowed.

Agents’ price opinions are allowed. State law prohibits false or misleading opinion of price. Your letter must include this

statement: “The opinion of price is not an appraisal and is not based upon an appraisal. “

State law prohibited payment to you directly for your price opinion letter. Payments must be paid to Broker. Broker will deduct

a processing fee of 10%.

17. MLS Listings Not Allowed

Associate Licensee shall not submit to an MLS provider a Limited Service Listing or an Entry-Only Listing on behalf of a

client. Associate Licensee may submit an Entry-Only Listing on their own personal property.

18. Associate Licensee Coordinator

You may request Broker to provide for you, at Broker’s sole approval, a Transaction Coordinator to assist you in processing of

documentation for the sale or lease of a property. Your arrangement with the Coordinator must be in writing, signed and dated by both of

you, and must be specific to a named transaction and duties of the Coordinator. You will be responsible for compensation to the Coordinator

under the terms of the agreement and that compensation, as negotiated between you and the Coordinator, will be paid to the Coordinator

mailto:[email protected].


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from your commissions due.

Associate Licensee may enter into an agreement to compensate a personal assistant provided assistant holds a valid California

real estate license and is an Associate Licensee of Broker.

Broker will not enter into any three-party agreement with you and an assistant or a Coordinator.

19. Brokers’ O ffices.

Broker does not provide an office location for Associate Licensee. Associate Licensees are responsible for all cost related to their

place of business, be it a private office, home, or any other place of operation.

Broker Branch Offices and corporate administrative offices are for Broker, management and staff only.

20. Broker’s Branch O ffices.

Broker may obtain a branch office license in an area serviced by a local Association of Realtors and M LS. Associate Licensee

may become a Subscriber member of a local Association of Realtors and MLS provided Gilleran Griffin has established a branch office for

that local association.

In the event no other Associate Licensee is already a member of a local association and MLS, said Associate License, who holds

a valid California broker license, may request to become the Branch Office Manage of that Gilleran Griffin branch office and may therefore

be appointed the Designated Responsible Broker Participant to that Association and MLS. A Branch Office Manager Agreement between

Broker and a licensed broker Associate Licensee will establish their Branch Office Manager relationship.

21. Do-Not-Call Status.

Gilleran Griffin Company is not a tele-marketing company nor do we promote unsolicited cold calling. Therefore, Gilleran Griffin

Company does not maintain a Do-Not-Call list, nor are we members of the National Do Not Call Registry, nor do we update any such

list. An individual agent may wish to establish a personal membership in the National Do Not Call Registry and to abide by the Do Not Call

Improvement Act of 2007, in which case an agent may wish to cold call for prospective clients respective of the Do Not Call laws.

22. Referral Fees.

Referral fees are governed by both Federal (RESPA) and State laws. Both governments allow agents to pay monies to buyers and

sellers. Monies from commissions paid or credited to a Buyer must be disclosed to the Seller. Referral fees between agents of different

brokerage companies are allowed but must be paid to the agent’s broker who in turn will be pay their agent. Brokers usually take a

percentage of the referral fee. Gilleran Griffin’s referral fee percentage is 10%.

23. Annual M embership Fee. The annual membership fee is due and payable on the first business day of each year and is non-refundable.

If the fee is not paid within 20 days from the due date, the independent contractor agreement with Broker shall be terminated by Broker

unless other arrangements for payment by Associate License are approved by Broker.

24. Appraisal Reports:

Coercive or intimidating influence of appraisers is not permitted and is unlawful. You may request the appraiser to consider

additional property information or consider correcting objective errors in the appraisal report. You may advise your clients to consider having

another appraisal.

25. Transfer Disclosure Statement - Agent’s Visual Inspection Report .

On the sale of residential property of one to four units, you are required to provide your buyers with a report based upon your visual

inspection of a property including the structures as soon as possible after a transaction has been accepted. This report must state the date

of your inspection and any substantial aspects of the property or structures you deem important enough for the buyer to be made aware. Your

personal report is required even if the seller is not required to provide a Transaction Disclosure Statement (TDS).

You are not required to move any furniture nor to gain access to the roof or to the crawl space under the structures. Nor are you

expected to be an expert in assessing a condition of the structures. You are not a trained and licensed inspector. State what you think could

be a material concern to the buyer.

26. Pest Control Reports.

You are required to provide your buyers and to obtain their receipt of pest control reports’ certifications and notices of work

completed as soon as possible after reports and notices have been obtained.

27. M aterial Facts:

Agents and property owners must disclose to the buyer material facts about the property and the structures that would influence

the decision to buy or not to buy. Withholding material facts is the single most common and costly mistake agents and property owners make.

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Defining a material fact is based upon the what the buyer would consider material or not material, and since it is not possible to know how

a buyer would perceive the disclosure, always give the buyer the opportunity to decide if the fact is material or not . The best action to take

is: When in doubt, disclose! Make all material disclosures in writing.

A person’s race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin is not a material fact or a subject for discussion.

Making substantial representations that you know to be incorrect or untruthful is prohibited, unlawful and will result in

disciplinary actions against your license and against you personally.

28. Non-English Contracts.

Non- English speaking clients must be represented by an adult person , other than the Associate Licensee, who does read and speak

English. Associate Licensee shall not interpret or translate any document in any language other than English even if they speak the client’s

language. Non-English speaking clients must be given all documents translated into the language they speak.

29. Sending Documents to Broker.

All documents related to any transaction in which you are involved including transactions that were cancelled or not completed

together with copies of all e-mails and letters relative to those transactions must be furnished to Broker not later than five days from

production. Documents can be mailed, faxed, ifaxed or e-mailed.

30. Retention of Records.

Associate Licensee shall keep in a safe place for not less than three years copies or originals of all documents related to any

transaction in which you are involved including transactions than were not completed or cancelled together with copies of all e-mails and

letters relative to those transactions. Associate Licensee shall keep records confidential and shall dispose of records in a manner that ensures

the privacy of personal client information.

31. Easy Catch-Up

Easy Catch Up is a Gilleran Griffin cursory reference advisory that can be read or downloaded on our website. It is a compilation

of significant real estate matters that we have developed over time that you will appreciate for its straightforward talk.

32. Time is of the Essence.

All transactions are time sensitive. Dates matter. Issues left hanging in time can become major issues. One of the best tools

provided by Winforms is the NOTICE TO PERFORM. Contingencies do not automatically elapse, they must be affirmatively removed.

The Notice to Perform requires action and provides resolution to the issues.

Regarding listings, you must register prospective buyers on expired listings not later than 3 days after expiration. It is best to register

prior to expiration.

33. Contingency Removals.

All contingency removals in CAR contracts require active removal by a buyer. If not affirmatively removed, contingencies remain

in effect until removed. If the buyer is given a Notice To Perform, failure to respond to the Notice may result in cancellation of the sale by

the seller. If more time is required to remove a contingency, that extension must be in writing within the time limits set in the sale.

Conditional removal may not be in the buyer’s best interest. That is, often a buyer will approve the inspection contingency subject

to a request for repairs. Is that an approval or disapproval? It may be considered a disapproval by the seller. The best course of action is

to get the inspection done quickly with adequate time remaining to express the buyer’s concerns and requests.

34. O veruse of E-M ail.

E-mails should be used to confirm or set appointments. Overuse of e-mails to clients and others can often lead to confusion and

can be counter productive. Use the telephone to express yourself.

35. Transactions in Which You Are Personally Involved.

Associate Licensee shall disclose in writing to the other party in a transaction if they have a financial or family relationship to their

clients. On the sale or purchase of personal property, Associate Licensee shall disclosure their real estate license status to all parties.

36. Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA ).

Associate Licensee is required to become familiar with all essentials of the Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)

which prohibit giving or accepting any thing of value for referrals of settlement service business related to a federally related residential

mortgage loan. To this issue, Broker policy is do not ask nor receive any referral compensation from any service provider including lenders,

title companies, termite companies, escrow companies, inspection companies, and others who are providing a service to a transaction.


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37. Training and Refreshing Your Skills.

Membership in your local, state and national Realtors associations and in your local and statewide MLS providers offer

comprehensive on line training and courses to refresh your skills. Take advantage of these services. Most are free.

38. Litigation Awareness .

Most real estate transaction problems (98% ) can be resolved without litigation. Fear of litigation is often the motivation for

covering-up problems. Once the process of a cover-up begins, it only creates bigger and worse problems.

Always address a problem when the problem becomes known to you. First, express your concerns to your client(s) and to the co-

operating agent, if any. If you re unable to resolve the problem, notify, as soon as possible, Broker as to the significance of the problem.

Management may hold a possible resolution for all concerned parties. You may call Broker’s staff or send your problem by e-mail to

[email protected] . Please be brief and to the point. If you canno t focus your problem, think about it before sending the e-mail.

Provide Broker with any advance notice or notice of claims against you or against Broker as soon as possible.

39. Resolution of Claims and Disputes.

Associate Licensee has the responsibility to resolve issues that arise in a transaction. Issues cannot be left unattended after the

transaction has completed. Broker reserves the right to negotiate and settle all disputes and claims that the parties cannot resolve themselves

and the right to make adjusts to compensations toward resolution of those disputes and claims.

40. Equal Opportunity.

The Gilleran Griffin Company has been and is fully committed to equal employment opportunity, both in principle and as a matter

of policy. Our employment policies and practices require that we provide equal opportunity to all applicants, independent contractors, and

employees, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability, or domestic partnership.

41. Discrimination:

Associate Licensees may not discriminate on the basis of race, co lor, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin

or domestic partnership. Equally as important, Associate Licensees may not follow any discrimination instructions from their clients and

shall advise their clients on the prohibition of discrimination.

42. Sexual Harassment.

. Gilleran Griffin Company prohibits sexual harassment in any form by any officer, manager, employees or by any associate

licensee. Such conduct may result in termination. For purposes this policy, sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome advances,

requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either

explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic status, (2) submission to or rejection of such

conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment or academic decisions affecting an individual, or (3) such conduct has the

purpose or effect of interfering with an individual's work performance or academic performance or creating intimidating, hostile or

offensive working, living, or learning environment. This policy prohibits inappropriate and/or offensive conduct that may not be severe

enough to satisfy the legal definition of sexual harassment. Retaliation against any individual who makes a complaint of sexual

harassment or cooperates in an investigation of such a complaint is strictly prohibited.

43. How to Contact Gilleran Griffin Realtors.

Other than by phone or fax, you can contact Broker by our exclusive staff e-mail address: [email protected].

The foregoing constitutes the entire Company Policy Manual between Broker and Associate Licensee inclusive of Commission

& Fees Schedule Exhibits B and the Independent Contractor Agreement.

Associate Licensee herein acknowledges they have read, understood and agree to the terms of this Agreement as acknowledged

on The Signature Page made a part hereof.

End of Policy Manual Exhibit A

