When William Shakespeare’s Juliet said the famous quote,“What’s in a name?”, she was explaining how a name is not a big deal. While that may be true for Romeo and Juliet, it is certainly not the case when it comes to obtaining a Public Report from the DRE.
The time involved in obtaining a Public Report can take anywhere from 4 months to 12 months, depending upon the project. Since the process is so involved, it’s not unusual that the Public Report Process needs to begin before a marketing name has been selected for the new community. In fact, lots of times, we start with a proposed advertising name, and change it mid-way between PINK and WHITE.
The Department of Real Estate (DRE) Regulation 2799 (Read it here) very clearly states that “A subdivision shall not be advertised under a name, designation or appellation that is not set forth in a Notice of Intention and Questionnaire.” The Notice of Intention is the DRE application. Any advertising name reflected in the application is also published on the face of the issued Public Report. When “ABC” becomes “XYZ,” it’s time to let us know.
We do a lot of subdivisions where the name of the project is simply “Tract No. ___” but 99% of the time, there is an advertising name designed. If you elect to change your advertising program after the Public Report is issued, it is considered a material change – necessitating an Amendment to the Public Report.
Most recently, we had a large file rejected by the DRE because the advertising name in our application for the Final (white) Report did not match the advertising name provided in the Preliminary (Pink) Report. While this is an extreme example, it is a sure sign that the DRE takes this Regulation seriously. With many office staff working remotely, the DRE simply doesn’t have time to tweak their system to address variances.
Our team will usually check in with you prior to issuance of a Public Report where no advertising name has been given. Unless told otherwise, though, we will seek to have any Report issued when it has been approved by DRE.
