DE Real Estate cheat sheet

Agency may be created by express agreement, implied conduct, ratification, or estoppel; the scope of authority defines what the licensee may do for the principal.

Fiduciary duties are commonly summarized as care, obedience, loyalty, disclosure, accounting, and confidentiality.

Delaware licensees must establish agency relationships in writing and disclose whom they represent; dual agency requires informed written consent of all parties.

Contract formation requires offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, legality, and, for an interest in land, a writing satisfying the Statute of Frauds.

An exclusive right to sell pays the broker regardless of who procures the buyer; an exclusive agency excludes an owner-procured buyer; an open listing pays only the procuring broker.

Contingencies are conditions that must be satisfied for performance; common real estate contingencies include financing, inspection, appraisal, and sale of the buyer's home.

Assignment transfers contract rights and duties to a third party; novation substitutes a new party and releases the original party from liability.

Breach remedies include damages, specific performance, rescission, and liquidated damages when the clause is enforceable.

A net listing sets the broker's commission as the amount above the seller's stated net price and is disfavored or regulated in many jurisdictions.

A fee simple absolute estate is indefinite, inheritable, and freely transferable; a defeasible fee ends upon a stated event or condition.

A life estate lasts for a measuring life; the remainderman holds a future interest, and the life tenant generally may not commit waste.

Leasehold estates include tenancy for years, periodic tenancy, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance.

An easement appurtenant benefits a dominant parcel and burdens a servient parcel; an easement in gross benefits a person or entity rather than a parcel.

A prescriptive easement requires use that is open, notorious, adverse, continuous, and for the statutory period.

Tenancy in common has no survivorship; joint tenancy requires the four unities and includes survivorship; tenancy by the entirety is a spousal estate with survivorship.

Zoning tools include variances, special or conditional use permits, nonconforming uses, planned unit developments, and subdivision plat approval.

Adverse possession typically requires actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous possession for the statutory period.

Encumbrances include liens, easements, covenants, conditions, and encroachments; they may affect title or use without transferring ownership.

Sales comparison approach: adjust each comparable toward the subject; if the comparable is superior, subtract; if inferior, add.

Cost approach: value equals replacement or reproduction cost new minus depreciation plus land value.

Income approach: value equals net operating income divided by capitalization rate; capitalization rate equals NOI divided by value.

Gross rent multiplier equals sale price divided by gross rent; indicated value equals subject gross rent multiplied by the GRM.

Depreciation includes physical deterioration, functional obsolescence, and external obsolescence.

Highest and best use must be legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive.

Months of supply equals active listings divided by monthly absorption; absorption rate equals sales per month divided by inventory.

Reconciliation weights valuation approaches by reliability and relevance; a comparative market analysis is not an appraisal.

Adjustment order commonly addresses property rights, financing, conditions of sale, market conditions, location, and physical features.

Loan-to-value ratio equals loan amount divided by value or purchase price; down payment equals purchase price minus loan amount.

Monthly principal and interest: M = P × [i(1+i)^n] ÷ [(1+i)^n − 1], where i is the monthly rate and n is the number of payments.

One discount point equals one percent of the loan amount; points may reduce the interest rate or fund a buydown.

The APR reflects interest plus certain finance charges; the note rate is the interest rate applied to principal.

The Loan Estimate is due within three business days after application; the Closing Disclosure must be delivered at least three business days before consummation.

An escrow or impound account collects property taxes and insurance with mortgage payments; RESPA limits the required cushion.

Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA loans differ in mortgage insurance, guaranty, down payment, and occupancy requirements.

A due-on-sale clause lets a lender demand payoff when title transfers; assumability depends on the loan terms and lender approval.

Settlement prorations allocate taxes, rent, and utilities between buyer and seller as of the closing date.

A valid deed requires a competent grantor, identifiable grantee, words of conveyance, legal description, consideration, grantor signature, and delivery with acceptance.

A general warranty deed includes covenants of seisin, right to convey, quiet enjoyment, warranty, and further assurances.

A special warranty deed limits the grantor's warranty to defects created by the grantor; a quitclaim deed conveys only the grantor's present interest.

Recording provides constructive notice; Delaware's race-notice statute protects a later good-faith purchaser who takes without notice and records first.

A chain of title search traces recorded ownership; title insurance protects against covered defects; an abstract summarizes recorded documents.

Marketable title is title reasonably free from doubt and objectionable encumbrances and can be enforced by the buyer.

Metes-and-bounds descriptions use bearings and distances; lot-and-block descriptions use a recorded plat; monuments generally control when descriptions conflict.

Delaware imposes a realty transfer tax on many transfers; the rate, split, and exemptions depend on statute and the contract.

Closing coordinates deed delivery, funds, recording, and prorations.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.

Delaware fair housing law may add protected classes; licensees must follow the stricter applicable rule.

For most housing built before 1978, sellers and landlords must disclose known lead-based paint hazards, provide the approved pamphlet, and allow an inspection opportunity.

RESPA prohibits kickbacks and unearned fees for settlement services; affiliated business arrangements require disclosure.

TILA and Regulation Z require Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure disclosures; ECOA and Regulation B prohibit credit discrimination and require adverse action notices.

Antitrust law prohibits price fixing, group boycotts, market allocation, and concerted refusals to deal.

Delaware residential sellers generally must provide a written disclosure of known material defects using the required form, subject to statutory exemptions.

Advertising must be truthful, identify the brokerage, avoid misleading claims, and comply with fair housing law.

Flood, insurance, and other property disclosures vary by transaction type and must follow the required state and federal forms.

The Delaware Real Estate Commission licenses brokers, associate brokers, and salespersons and adopts rules governing real estate practice.

Only licensed persons may provide brokerage services for compensation; salespersons and associate brokers must act under a licensed broker.

Compensation for a salesperson or associate broker generally flows through the affiliated broker rather than directly from a client.

The broker must supervise affiliated licensees, maintain transaction records, and ensure advertising compliance.

Trust and escrow funds must not be commingled with personal or brokerage operating funds; deposit and disbursement rules are set by Commission regulation.

License renewal is biennial and requires continuing education established by Commission rule.

The Commission may fine, suspend, revoke, or impose conditions on a license for fraud, misrepresentation, incompetence, or license law violations.

Licensees must report certain criminal convictions and disciplinary actions to the Commission.

Unlicensed assistants may perform clerical or administrative tasks but may not negotiate, solicit, or perform acts requiring a real estate license.

The Delaware Real Estate Guaranty Fund may compensate consumers harmed by licensee misconduct, subject to statutory limits.

Commission equals sale price multiplied by the commission rate; a co-broker split divides commission according to the brokerage agreement.

Seller net equals sale price minus mortgage payoff, commission, closing costs, and prorations owed by the seller.

Equity equals market value minus total debt; loan-to-value equals debt divided by value.

One acre equals 43,560 square feet; one square mile equals 640 acres; one yard equals three feet.

Property tax equals assessed value multiplied by mill rate divided by 1,000; one mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value.

Proration daily rate equals annual amount divided by 365; allocate days owned by each party unless the contract states otherwise.

Capitalization rate equals NOI divided by price; value equals NOI divided by cap rate; GRM equals price divided by gross rent.

Return on investment equals net income divided by cash invested; cash-on-cash return uses pre-tax cash flow divided by cash invested.

Percentage change equals (new value minus old value) divided by old value, multiplied by 100; compounding uses future value = present value × (1 + rate)^periods.