MA Real Estate key terms

The state agency that licenses real estate brokers and salespersons in Massachusetts, sets education and conduct rules, and investigates complaints against licensees.

A license that lets a person perform brokerage acts only while sponsored and supervised by a licensed Massachusetts broker; it requires pre-license coursework and a passing exam.

A license authorizing a person or firm to operate a real estate brokerage, sponsor salespersons and handle transactions independently; it requires experience as a salesperson plus additional coursework.

The licensed broker who sponsors a salesperson, supervises that person's licensed activity and is answerable for the office's escrow handling and advertising practices.

A trust account a broker uses to hold other people's money, such as buyer deposits, kept separate from business funds with records maintained for each transaction.

Putting client money, such as a deposit, into the broker's own business or personal account, or mixing it with the broker's funds; prohibited in Massachusetts.

Written notice a Massachusetts licensee gives a consumer explaining which party the licensee represents and which agency relationships are available in the transaction.

The legal obligations an agent owes a client, including loyalty, obedience, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting and reasonable care, which put the client's interests first.

Representing both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction; permitted in Massachusetts only when all parties give written informed consent after full disclosure.

A short written proposal, often signed on a standard Massachusetts form, stating price and basic terms, which usually leads to negotiation of a fuller purchase and sale agreement.

The main Massachusetts sale contract, prepared after the offer, that sets the closing date, title standard, contingencies, prorations and remedies for default.

A contract provision making the buyer's duty to close depend on obtaining a loan with stated terms by a deadline; if financing fails, the buyer may usually cancel and recover the deposit.

Money a buyer puts up when signing to show good faith, held in escrow in Massachusetts and normally credited toward the purchase price at closing.

The legal rule that contracts for the sale of land, and certain other agreements, must be in writing and signed by the party being charged to be enforceable.

A sum fixed in advance, often the deposit, that a seller may keep if the buyer defaults, provided it is a reasonable estimate of the loss rather than a penalty.

A form of joint ownership available only to married couples in Massachusetts that includes survivorship and generally shields the home from most creditors of just one spouse.

Co-ownership by two or more people whose shares are equal and created at the same time, featuring a right of survivorship when one owner dies.

Co-ownership in which each owner holds a separate share that can be sold or left to heirs, with no right of survivorship among the owners.

The recorded document that creates a Massachusetts condominium under M.G.L. c.183A, describing the units, common areas and each unit's percentage interest.

A legal description that defines a parcel's boundaries by starting from a known point and following compass directions and measured distances around the property.

A right held by one person to use another person's land for a specific limited purpose, such as a shared driveway or a utility line.

Zoning relief granted by a local board of appeals that lets an owner depart from a zoning rule because of hardship or conditions peculiar to the property.

A use of property that was lawful when it began but no longer matches current zoning; it may generally continue, subject to limits on expansion or rebuilding.

A Massachusetts procedure letting a developer of a project with a required share of affordable units seek one local permit that overrides some local zoning, with state appeal rights.

The use of a property that is legally allowed, physically possible, financially feasible and produces the greatest value; it frames every appraisal approach.

A broker's informal estimate of value based on recent comparable sales and active listings, offered as a marketing tool; it is not an appraisal.

An appraisal method that estimates value by comparing recent sales of similar properties and adjusting their prices for differences from the subject property.

A deed that transfers whatever interest the grantor may hold in the property without promising that title is good; the deed most often used in Massachusetts home sales.

A Massachusetts tax on transfers of real property, usually paid by the seller and calculated at a set rate per $1,000 of the sale price.

The county office where deeds, mortgages and other land records are recorded so the public, and later buyers, have notice of interests in the property.

Massachusetts property whose title is registered through the Land Court and shown on a certificate of title, rather than proved through a chain of recorded deeds.

A policy protecting an owner or lender against money losses from title defects, liens or ownership claims that were not found or disclosed at closing.

The Massachusetts document in which a borrower pledges real property to a lender as security for a loan, working together with the promissory note.

The loan amount divided by the property's appraised value or purchase price, shown as a percentage; a higher ratio means less borrower equity and more lender risk.

The Massachusetts consumer protection statute barring unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce; violations can lead to multiple damages and attorney's fees.

Massachusetts rules requiring sellers and landlords of pre-1978 housing to disclose known lead hazards and deliver the state notice, and giving buyers a chance to test.

A category of people whom Massachusetts fair housing law shields from discrimination, such as race, religion, sex, disability, familial status, marital status, sexual orientation and source of income.